The Girl From Ilvermorny (Being Redone)
by Ethan-Silas
Summary: Valyn Alain Malfoy was born in Detroit, Michigan in America, despite being the second cousin of one Lucius Malfoy. She, of course, was an esteemed pureblood, but living in the States, she attended Ilvermorny. However, when her father dies and leaves her orphaned, she's left to her closest family member- Abraxas Malfoy- and transfers to Hogwarts.
1. Her First Train

Valyn didn't listen much to Lucius as he spoke to her. Usually, she was more than happy to converse with her distant cousin, but today was not the time. As soon as she's finished tucking away her trunk, she excused herself. It was 10:21 after all; she had time.  
Attor followed, of course- her pretty little pet. Honestly, she was amazed that Dumbledore- the Headmaster- had allowed her to bring him. Back at Ilvermorny, where pygmy dragons were much more common, she'd had to leave him at home, though she had been allowed to visit him on the weekends.  
At first he was content stumbling about under her best pair of gogo boots, but when he discovered she was leaving the compartment, he leaped onto the seat before transferring himself to her shoulder blade, head resting on her collarbone. He was a two-tone Antipodean Opaleye- his main tone was the normal pearlescent gleam, but his belly was tinted darker, though it still shone through all of the colors of the rainbow. He was deformed, as many pygmys were, with his little arms connected to his wings. When he walked, he tucked the outer halves of his wings in, but the edges were still a little scraped, making it harder to fly. He was gorgeous, though, with his small nubby teeth and long, graceful snout. His nostrils flared when he was happy, and as they engorged with every inhale, Valyn knew he was ecstatic to accompany his mistress. His eyes were short and wide, not shining as the rest of his body, but a slightly eerie, pupiless creme. They shone with intelligence- dragons were more intelligent than both dogs and cats, and were known to count up to twenty, when they agreed to be taught. He had long tendrils of cartilage travelling in wisps over his head and down his back, changing to small spikes along his swaying tail. Valyn had been sure to round them before coming here, which he had not enjoyed. His claws and fangs- the only other sharp edges on the beast- had also been dulled, but he hadn't minded those much. He had a tuft of skin beneath his jaw, for creating his fire, but being pygmy, it was simply hollow and useless. He used it instead for storing water, a feat that thoroughly amused Valyn. Whenever he saw her poster of a full-size Antipodean Opaleye spitting vibrant red flames, he'd sputter the water out of his mouth, causing Valyn to errupt into a giggling fit. It didn't matter that she was sixteen.  
His neck was long and mobile, like the body of a snake, and attached to thin shoulders. His arms were bent at the elbows, small fingers with their dulled claws clinging to her shirt beside his shoulders, wings pulled in tight behind them. His wingspan was as large as he- a foot and a half. A slim body lay between them and short, rabbit-like legs, parted by his tail- it took up half of his size, and much of the other half was neck. Valyn smiled at her pet, and he mocked it by baring his teeth.  
She'd left the smaller of his teeth sharper- he did eat meat, after all. She gifted him with a meal of goat and lamb meat, something he enjoyed quite much. She had a near farm of them, all shipped from his homeland, Australia. His breed was from New Zealand, but his mother had been in Australia when she birthed the egg. It had been small for an egg, and dragons knew when their offspring were pygmies- she'd abandoned him. Luckily, however, a visiting young witch had stumbled upon the valley they were in right as the mother had cast the egg from her nest- Valyn herself. She'd begged her father, the great Belial Malfoy, known all over Romania his wonderful dragonologist skills, until he'd finally agreed.  
That had been six years ago. Since then, of course, wonderous things had happened.  
They'd kept in in the fireplace until he began to hatch, before he'd come out on the living room floor. He'd been tiny and blind, eyes still closed, and Valyn had fallen in love. When her father had pointed to fangs covered in mushy, purple mouth skin, he'd warned her that the fnags were venemous and lethal to humans, even on a pygmy. She'd named him Attor in honor; it meant venom.  
He'd grown quickly, and on his first birthday only months before her eleventh, he'd been fully grown- but there was a problem. He had one cartilage tendril that was too-long for his head, and it often sent him toppling over whenever he tried to fly.  
Her father said they'd have to cut it off, something that terrified Valyn. Of course, her father did things like that often- but still. Father had convinced her by bringing a wandmaker to the house, who could make the cartilage inside the tendril into a wand for her. That had made her giddy.  
They'd set the surgery for a week before her birthday. The wandmaker and her father chose a wood for her- dogwood. It was to be a six inch, unbending dogwood wand with a dragon cartilage core.  
The removal was easy, especially at her father's dragon reserve in Romania. The wand was finished by her birthday, and as soon as she shifted the wand in her hand, fireworks much like fire flared from it. The wand was perfect for her.  
The wandmaker- a boy barely older than she with a thick Scottish accent- had explained to her the meaning of all of the traits. Dogwood was silly, quirky and adventurous and would not answer to non-verbal magic. Dragon cartilage, much like dragon heartstring, was showed that the user learned quickly and was meant to be strong. Six inches was very rare to take to a person, especially as quickly as it took to Valyn, and signified the weilder's character to be lacking in some way. Unbending meant that it's allegiance to Valyn would never change nor falter.  
Valyn looked down at the wand in it's sheath at her hip. The wand was bowed slightly, like Attor's tendrils, and very dark, thin, and smooth. The sheath was connected to a belt Valyn never took off (other than sleep and shower) made of dragon hide thought to be from Attor's mother- there had been only one female dragon on Australia at the time, and she'd had father buy it. She had a backup wand, as did her father, made of two of her heartstrings. Her wood had been hazel, one of her personal favorites, and her father's had been poplar unlike his first, which had been Cypress- also, by the by, the cypress had had a core of unicorn hair.  
She nearly bumped into someone while reminiscing.  
"Hey," a deep, British accent barked angrily. "You're on the right side of the hallway, girl,"  
She blinked at the guy before realizing- Here, in Britain, one walked on the left. Valyn sighed.  
"I'm sorry, I'm not from here." Valyn said, stepping into the left wall. She examined the four boys before her.  
The deep-voiced one she'd nearly ran into was probably six foot, with skin probably as fair as her own. His hair was shoulder length and the deepest shade of brown- she would have thought it black if the candle light didn't shine upon it. He had a remarkably handsome face, one of royalty, with pronounced features and thin, smouldering eyes the darkest shade of blue Valyn had ever seen. He wore No-Maj clothes; His old, worn grey shirt boasted Aerosmith, but most of the logo was worn out. A black leather jacket sat on broad shoulders, and ripped black jeans fell around muscular looking legs. Combat boots finished the look.  
Directly beside him was a boy the same age as the punk guy- same as Val- and he wore a tight, gold-and-orange patterned shirt tucked into the male equivalent of bell-bottom pants, bright crimson. His belt was white with scarlet polka dots, and his shoes looked to have heels. His hair was pitch black and wild, and big, square glasses sat atop a relatively attractive face with large, round hazel eyes. He was much tanner than his punk friend.  
Behind him was the tallest, a scrawny kid maybe a head taller than the bell bottom boy, who stood easily 5'10. He had lighter brown hair with highlights of red and blond, and pale, acne-ridden skin. His eyes were light caramel.  
He wore a dull, brown plaid button up, open, and a brown-and-tan striped shirt beneath it, tucked into old jeans. Brown dress shoes, old and dirty and worn, finished his look.  
And finally, the shortest boy. He had a light blond bowl cut that framed a cute, chubby peach face with small blue eyes. He had one small hoop earring and wore a fringe jacket a top a medium blue button up with three buttons undone, showing a small mess of yellow chest hairs. The shirt was tucked into brown leather pants atop brown sneakers.  
"You're..." Valyn felt herself grin, something people did not often urge her to do. "An odd bunch."  
The punk straightened, eyes narrowing. The tan kid grinned proudly. The acne guy got a small smile, looking down and nowhere near towards Valyn. The chubby boy beamed.  
They were the nerds.  
"Don't mind them," said a harpie-like voice with a british accent. Valyn turned. "They're nothing but nothings." The girl was again around Valyn's age, with curly, wild black hair and cold black eyes, and facial features remarkably similar to the punk's. "I'm Bellatrix Lilith Black, but you must call me Bella," She took Valyn's hand and smiled. "Don't worry, I of course know who your are- my sister is Narcissa, your cousins girlfriend!"  
The punk snorted. "This is Lucius' cousin? Should've known, I reckon." He sneered at Valyn as he gave her a once-over.  
Valyn pictured herself as she remembered from the morning. Her long, straight, thick hair was white-blonde and obediant, trailing down her back. Her skin was soft and flawless this morning, unridden with the breakout she was terrified she'd have- stress gave her pimples. Her eyes were small and a nearly colorless shade of sepia, her lips glossed over with clear chapstick. She wore her Led Zeppelin shirt beneath a dragon hide jacket made from Attor's mother (she was surprised noone had remarked on his behalf), tucked into a short, white snakeskin skirt. Long, hueless and hairless legs led down to white vinyl go go boots that took her height from 5'10 to 5'11. She looked good, honestly.  
She looked over at Bella. She wore a black lace dress to her ankles and wrists, and had black eyeshadow that faded up into grey before hitting her eyebrows. She was the epitome of goth... So why was she acting all... Not ready for death?  
Two girls were behind Bella, Valyn noticed.  
One was familiar to Valyn through photographs on Lucius' dresser- Cissa Black. She had hair only slightly less white than Valyn's, skin only slightly darker than hers, though her face was not long and elegant like Valyn's, but stunning an dcontoured like her sister's and the punk's. She wore a pastel, short, longsleeved psychedelic dress and go go boots like Valyn. Her blonde hair was short, though, cut as short as a boy's to frame her gorgeous face. She had giant, ice-blue eyes.  
There was another girl, too. She wore kahki pants that stopped just below a pale navel and a sparkly magenta bustier that really looked like a glorified brazier under her hogwarts cloak thing. Her feet were bare. She had orange-brown curls down to her shoulders and had the same face as her sisters, though her eyes were green.  
"I'm Andy," the bustier girl said. "Andy Black. That's Cissa, by the way."  
Valyn nodded. "I'm Valyn." She glanced over so as to include the odd boys in her introduction. "My friends call me Val, though."  
The red-and-orange boy stepped forward before someone else could reply. "I'm James Potter, Charms and Potions extraordinair. Nice to meet you, Val," He offered a big, tan hand, and she shook it. He, like Lucius and the Black sisters, as well as his punk friend, had the more refined British accent, the one better understood by the American girl. Valyn shook his hand.  
"He's nothing!" Bella shreiked disapprovingly, very un-goth. Valyn looked behind her.  
"So?" Valyn asked. "Are you so rude as to deny a gentleman the introduction to a lady?" Her father had not raised her to be rude, brazen, or shrieky. She began to dislike Bella.  
"Ha! James Potter is no gentleman," Andy spoke this time, smirking. "Still, it's only polite. Calm down, Bella." The not-goth huffed and stalked off. Cissa and Andy exchanged looks.  
"This, m'lady, is Sirius Black, cousin of that frightful wench," James bent and offered both arms towards Sirius, the gorgeous punk, who glared down at James.  
"You're an out-and-out wanker," Sirius said, and the chubby kid snickered.  
"Just because my prince's hand isn't too busy pleasuring a Muggle's trash doesn't give you reason to insult me."  
Valyn raised a brow, confused. Andy, too, gave the boys an odd look, but Cissa was disinterested.  
"I'll be in the compartment," She said, then smiled at Valyn. The American returned it, then glanced at her watch- 10:43.  
"This tower of a boy is Remus Lupin, the most intelligent guy at Hogwarts." The acne-ridden boy grunted something in what father called Muggle british- the poorest, least understandible accent. His voice wasn't deep naturally, it seemed, but the grunt mad eit nearly as deep as Sirius'. "And, finally, we have Peter, this unfortunately endowed boy over here," The blond stuck a pink tongue out, and Valyn blinked.  
She offered her hand to Remus next, who looked at it a moment before shaking it unsurely. His fingers were long, his shake loose. Her father wouldv'e shunned the guy publically for a shake like that.  
Next, she shook the hand of Peter, who squeezed her fingers and shook rapidly. She had to wiggle her hand free.  
James' had shake had been brisk and unprofessional, but definately not bad- they were meeting in an unprofessional setting. She looked over at Sirius, whose dark eyes all but dared her to attempt to shake his hand. She straightened and offered her small, pale hand.  
To her surprise, he took it immediately in his large, callused hand. It was warm and folded againt Valyn's easily, despite the size difference, and she had the impression he was taught to do this. He shook her hand in a warm, envolping shake, unprofessional but not casual. His eyes never broke contact with hers, and he smirked. Valyn swore to herself in that moment she was in love.  
But then he released her hand and she refused to hold his gaze. He probably had that affect on many girls. Valyn would not be one of many girls.  
"C'mon, Val," Andy said as if Valyn's heart wasn't imploding repeatedly. "Let's go to the compartment."  
She nodded, then followed Andy the way the boys had came.


	2. Meeting the Headmaster

Valyn had an uneventful trainride after that, she followed Andy back to their compartment where sat Lucius, Cissa on his lap, then Bella on one side with two open spaces (presumably for Andy and Valyn) and on the other, two men each with a girl in their own laps, and then another fellow on his own on the other. Andy and Valyn did take the seats beside Bella, Valyn closest to the window.  
The boy across from Valyn who did not have a girl a top him was Regulus Black, brother of Sirius. He had the same face as his brother, though his build was smaller, athletic at best, his hair was cut short and slicked down, and his eyes were a dark, dull green. He smiled coridally and resumed peering out of the window.  
He did not wear No-Maj (or Muggle, as the brits called them) clothes, but the more royalty-esque wizard garb. His pants were dress pants, relatively loose but not baggy, and he wore a black dragonhide jacket and a ruffled white undershirt. If he were a prince, his brother was the devil.  
Beside Regulus-or Reg- was Greyson Goyle, a large boy with a few too many pounds a top a relatively attractive, relatively plain face. Above him was Demeter Greengrass, a pretty, slim girl with flaming red hair and eyes. She was tan and looked Scottish, to Valyn, which was confirmed with her voice when she greeted Valyn. Beside Greyson was Carlisle Crabbe, a frightfully ugly boy with too many muscles. In his lap was the less than beautiful (although not necassarily ugly) Joanna Bulstrode, who had dull brown hair, dull brown eyes, and nearly grey skin.  
Demeter was the first to comment on Attor, and they chatted about him for a little while before Valyn turned to get some sleep, her pet curled into her chest. She asked Lucius to wake her in time to put on her robes before sleeping for the rest of the train.  
Wake her Lucius did, about ten minutes before arriving. Crabbe, Goyle and their girls had left, being all prefects, and Lucius followed suit soon after, being the same. Regulus and the Black sisters were the only ones in the compartment, all of them already in their uniforms.  
Valyn stood and pulled off her jacket, but left on her clothes. She pulled the robe over her- it was her old one from Ilvermorny turned inside out. The cranberry and blue hugged her outfit. She sat down.  
The place for her Ilvermorny badge sat painfully empty. She looked at her four companions to see they all had a crest- green and silver, it boasted a snake. They were Slytherins.  
Valyn had done her research on the school long before her father passed- after all, she was a descendant of Martha Steward, who, a Squib, had produced a line of wizards and witches, carrying on the Slytherin heritage. Law stated that the No-Maj in her was so washed out she was, indeed, pureblood, however. She held her lineage with pride.  
Hogwarts, like Ilvermorny, had four Houses; Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. If one were to compare these to the Houses of Ilvermorny, they would be Wampus, Thunderbird, Pukwudgie, and Horned Serpant, respectively. However, they weren't exactly the same- Valyn had been Sorted to be Thunderbird at Ilvermorny, but she was sure she'd receive Slytherin, due to her ambition, cunning, and (honeslty) preference.  
Thunderbird represented the soul and preferred adventurers. Valyn identified strongly with both. Horned Serpent represented the mind and preferred scholars. That had been her second choice. Wampus represented the body and preferred warriors- her third choice. Pukwudgie represented the heart and preffered healers, her last choice.  
She thought Lucius would have been Horned Serpent. He was shrewd and intelligent, and studied for fun. He loved experimenting with spells and potions. He was wicked, in the best sense of the word.  
Valyn looked at Andy. She'd fit nicely into Pukwudgie- she seemed kind and brilliant, the kind who loved a good laugh.  
She looked then at Bella. She'd fit nicely into Wampus- fierce and tempermental, she was, and argumentative. Valyn began to like her a bit more; Webster Boot, a founder of Ilvermorny, had been all those things.  
And Thunderbird... Who, too, would have been Thunderbird? Sirius Black popped into her head. Would he have been? ... Yes, Valyn decided, ignoring how odd a thought that was. She sat down, fully dressed, and almost smooshed Attor, who spat water her way. Valyn only sighed and reapplied her chapstick.  
She followed Andy off the train, being instructed to leave her trunk. Attor took up his residence on her shoulder, looking back occasionally at Reg.  
Albus Dumbledore was waiting outside the train, something that was commented by Andy to be odd. Old, blue eyes landed happily on Valyn.  
"Valyn Alain Malfoy," Dumbledore announced. Everyone looked at her- including the odd group from before, Sirius' group. "Descendant of the founders of her old school on her mother's side, and also descendant of Salazar Slytherin." Everyone seemed surprised, and several gasps were heard- everyone except Sirius, who kept hungry eyes locked on her. "Please, follow me, child- you must be Sorted with the first years." His voice was old and grainy. Valyn followed, Attor huffing excitedly- he might tinkle if he doesn't calm himself, Valyn thought- and passed by Sirius, in his robes baring a Gryffindor badge. Pity, she thought. She definitely wasn't getting that.  
She followed the old man to the castle. It was big and complex, but still, Valyn couldn't help but decide Ilvermorny was prettier. Her old school had had decor, statues of the founders, children in cranberry and blue... Hogwarts was grey, and named quite ruefully after a pig with herpes. Valyn tried to lift her mood when she noticed a large, red bird- a phoenix, from what little of it she could see as it flew- flying around the castle.  
She studied the old man himself. He was about the same height as Remus, but not quite as thin, though he definitely wasn't average, either. He had long, white hair and an even loger, white beard. Walking beside him, she noticed his half-moon glasses perched on a nose that had broken a very long time ago. Dumbledore looked at her through the sides of his eyes.  
"I'm quite glad to accept a transfer from Ilvermorny," He said in his smart Brit voice. "It's not often we get Americans here. However, I would like to extend my sympathies for the reason behind your attendance."  
Valyn nodded, unsure what to say before words popped into her mouth. "Thank you for permitting Attor," she said, lifting the thing from her back. He stood proudly, weightlessly, in her hands before the old man, appraising him.  
"You're welcome, dear." Dumbledore said brightly. "What House were you in at Ilvermorny?"  
"Thunderbird," she said, pride dripping from her voice.  
"Very interesting. What House would you like here?"  
"Either Slytherin or Gryffindor, but I think I'm more ambitious than brave."  
"Regardless, one House is going to gain a wonderful addition. Your grades at Ilvermorny were flawless... I was expecting you to want Ravenclaw."  
Valyn smiled. "I like learning, but I don't think that's my core quality. It's too... easy. I don't have to study; I rarely even take notes. All I have to do is listen, and I can remember."  
Dumbledore looked surprised. "That's quite the ability. I can hardly remember which socks I put on this morning." He looked over at Valyn and smiled. "And I'm quite fond of socks."  
Valyn laughed as the sea of students parted for Dumbledore, Valyn in tow.  
She was taken into the Great Hall while the first years were seemingly taken to a waiting room. Dumbledore sat her in a seat beside him, one obviously for a professor.  
On her right was a middle-aged professor who looked at her with much interest. He had retreating, brown hair and big, grey eyes. He wore a robe as well, one that boasted Slytherin. She smiled his way.  
"Hello," he said. "You must be the American transfer?"  
Valyn nodded, offering a hand. "Valyn Malfoy, sir," she said politely.  
The professor grinned, shaking her hand. "Professor Horace Slughorn! I've got your cousin in my House... You see, I'm the Head of Slytherin." Valyn smiled.  
"Well, I hope to join him there," She kept her smile as charming as possible. "Since I am a descendant of Slytherin, myself."  
Slughorn's eyes widened. "Is that so, my dear?"  
She told him the story of Isolt Sayre, Slytherin's wand, and Martha the Squib, as well as how she was still considered pureblood.  
Slughorn ate every word she spoke. "Well," he said when she finished, as children began flooding the Great Hall. "I'd be honored to add you to my Slug Club, that's-"  
"Horace," Dumbledore interrupted. "Recruit the poor girl later. She's just arrived."  
"Oh, alright," Slughorn's voice held amusement. "If you insist."  
Valyn giggled and sat forward.  
A tall, beautiful woman walked in, black hair in a bun beneath a tall, pointed green hat. She had green robes to match.  
"Is she Slytherin, too? Since she's in green?" Valyn whispered to Slughorn; the room had gone silent.  
"Oh, no. Professor McGonagall is the Head of Gryffindor." The man explained. Valyn nodded.  
McGonagall explained to the first years that followed to come up when their names were called. She started with Allen, Orville, and continued until the fortieth, and last, name was called- Zyrill, Fletcher.  
"Valyn Malfoy," the woman said, turning. Dumbledore, seated to her left, smiled at her. Valyn walked to her, and Dumbledore stood.  
"We, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, have a transfer- for the first time, from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardy, in America." Valyn shifted; everyone had their eyes on her.  
"Everyone, meet the sixteen-year-old Valyn," Slowly, a clap for her began. Valyn, for the first time, was uncomfortable under the gazes of her peers.  
When motioned to do so, she shuffled to the stool upon which Fletcher Zyrill had recently sat, and slowly lowered herself. McGonagall dropped the old, smelly hat on her head.  
 _Interesting,_ The hat spoke in her head, throwing her off-guard. She jumped. _You wouldn't be out of place in any House, would you? You're perhaps the most brilliant person since Ravenclaw- at least in the booksmarts area. You're very kind, extraordinarily loyal, and about as prejudiced as Hufflepuff. But you're not interested in those Houses, and those aren't your main traits. No, your main traits are, in equal parts, determination and resourcefulness.  
And you would be equally happy in either House. It doesn't change your fate much, either.  
_Valyn thought about her father, who'd attended Hogwarts himself. He'd been Sorted into Gryffindor... And been immediately disowned. At eleven, he'd been kicked from his house. He'd moved himself to America, deeply shamed, and enrolled in Ilvermorny, where he'd became a Pukwudgie.  
She did not want to be cast out of another family.  
"Slytherin!" The Hat yelled. Valyn stood and removed it, thanking it silently, and walked calmly towards the applause of her brother, fully aware of the devil's scorching gaze on her.


	3. A Real Show

Valyn looked over the tables. Slytherin was, in reference to the teacher's table, the rightmost table. It was some dark wood, and covered in an emerald table cloth with silver trimmings that hung onto Valyn's lap. Beside it was the Ravenclaw table, with a deep blue with what looked like bronze trimmings. After that was the Gryffindor table, and she had a fortunate view of Sirius, who'd stopped staring at her to dig into the feast they'd been allowed to eat. Their cloth was crimson, and from the badge Sirius wore, their trimmings would be gold. Beyond that was Hufflepuff, who- if Valyn's memory served her right- had a yellow and black cloth.  
Sirius sat between Peter and some girl with a short, black pixie cut. She was short and cute, with an upturned nose and a dimpled smile, and anger burned it's way into Valyn. Across from him was James, who sat between Remus and some girl with long, fiery red hair.  
"Tell me about the Gryffindors," Valyn whispered to Andy, who sat on her left.  
"Okay," Andy said, looking towards Sirius. "Well, Sirius is my cousin. He's the coolest of his group, but they're all regarded as total prats. They pull stupid, rude pranks on everyone and think they're the shit... But they're only good at Quidditch, really. Sirius sleeps around, I think, and he's totally anti-magic. He only wears Muggle clothes and learns magic only because he has to. James, he's the real Quidditch star- captain of the team this year, I think. A Chaser. He really likes girls, but he doesn't really flirt with them much- he's like, totally obsessed with this one muggleborn girl Lily Evans. She doesn't give him the time of day, though. I think that's her next to him, though, which is weird. Anyway, Remus. he's an uber nerd, and a prefect. He goes down really hard on everyone but his friends, who he's way too soft on. Literally, they get away with everything. And there's Peter- he's creepy. Follows girls around and stuff. Only ones who talk to him are the ones who're trying to get to Sirius- not that it works. Those four call themselves the Marauders- lame, right?" Andy flipped her hair. "I like Sirius well enough, though. He's not as uppity as most of the family. Other Gryffindors- that dark haired girl next to Sirius is Alice Fortescue. She's totally loaded, since her grandfather is Florean Fortescue from that ice cream shop in Diagon Alley. She flirts with anything that moves, but Sirius says she doesn't do anything because she's in love with that guy next to her- Frank Longbottom. I don't know why though- look at him." Valyn looked to see a blond boy with a bland face, next to the loaded, flirty Alice Longbottom. He was talking to the ginger next to James. "Frank is bad at everything, and he tries to make it all a joke, which is kind of sad. Lily there- the redhead- has to help him all the time. Lily's really good at everything, but she's a stuck-up bitch. She stopped talking to Sev-" Andy nodded towards a dark-haired boy a little down the table. "-Because he got mad that she tried to defend him against James. Called her a mudblood- big deal. It was one time, and James was totally mortifying Snape. But whatever. Beside her are Gideon and Fabian Prewett- they're alright, I guess. Twins, and they're both really protective over their older sister Molly. I think she graduated about ten years ago, but she visits every holiday- they don't usually go home. Those are the Gryffindors you'll encounter most, I think. The ones in our year are the Marauders and Frank, Lily, Alice, Emmaline Vance, Marlene McKinnon and Mira Luna. Emmaline doesn't talk much though, and Marlene's just awkward. She only talks to Lily, Alice and Remus. Mira... She's bonkers. Brilliant, but totally insane. That's why she's with Lovegood."  
"Lovegood?" Valyn asked, peeling her eyes from Sirius to look at Andy.  
"Xenophilius Lovegood. Graduated about two years ago. He was a Hufflepuff, I think. Really, really weird- used to talk about nuggets and bratwursts and triple horned snackracks, or whatever."  
Valyn looked at the table. "Where is this Mira?" My-ruh. A pretty name, really.  
"Uh... Three seats down from Peter. Emmaline's next to him, then Marlene, then Mira."  
Valyn examined the three girls. Mira had truly white hair, thin and long, and skin lighter than Valyn's- her eyes, too, were colorless. She had to be albino- she was so white she almost glowed. Beside her, Marlene had a thick mess of black curls that fell to her shoulder. She was tan with big, dark eyes. She wan't gorgeous, but she wasn't ugly, either. Next to her was Emmaline, a pretty, thin blonde girl with an air of superiority. Valyn looked at her own Housemates then.  
Across from her was Lucius, with Crabbe and Goyle on either side, both beside their girlfriends. Cissa was beside Val, and Bella was beside her, across from a handsome boy with a mess of dark hair. Rodolphus, next to his brother Rabastan, Lestrange. Next to Joanna was Severus Snape, the last Slytherin she'd been introduced to.  
"So..." Valyn said. "Who's in sixth year, like me?"  
"Well," Andy said. "It's you, me, Umbridge, Demeter, Alecto Carrow- she's sick, she went to Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, as soon as we got here- Lucius, Crabbe, Sev, Rabastan and Evan Rosier, who's next to Reg." I looked over to Reg, in between Snape and a cute brunet boy.  
"Reg is the year under us and Greyson and Bella's one above. Cissa's a fourth year, Avery a fifth. Alecto's brother Amycus is a fifth." Valyn nodded slowly, absorbing. Cissa looked older than fourteen.  
"Alright."  
"Yeah. You become a prefect in your fifth year, two a year in each House- Reg is one, and the other new one is Delores Umbridge, but we don't like her. From our year there's Demeter and Lucius, and in seventh year there's Goyle and Jo. In Ravenclaw, there's Imogen Paere, Destiny Hole, Lorelei Pygmy, David Bower, Giovanni Urielson, and Xavier Finn. In Hufflepuff, there's Meg Brown, Darla Starson, Kyla Michaels, Aaron Boot, Oliver Weasley, and Forrest Thomas. In Gryffindor, there's Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Isolt Finnigan, Haley Pettigrew, and Brian Rosier."  
Valyn took that to heart for a moment. "Alright." She looked down at her plate, which she'd been picking at. She wasn't fond of most of it.  
It wasn't too long before dinner ended and prefects escorted the first years away.  
"Is it curfew already?" Valyn asked, surprised.  
"Huh? Oh, no- just for first years, and just for tonight. Curfew's at ten." Andy replied. Valyn checked her watch- it was 8:02.  
"Where's are the dormitories?" Valyn asked, watching her brother razzing first years with Crabbe and Goyle.  
"The common room for Slytherins are in the dungeons."  
Valyn whipped her head to face Andy. "Why in God's name would someone sleep in a dungeon?"  
Andy laughed. "It's not bad in the common room. It's really cool, actually- you'll see. Meet me here at like 9:30," Andy said, motioning to their surroundings outside the Great Hall. "Go explore! It's Slytherin tradition, really. First years are let loose tomorrow, but I doubt you'll want to be around a bunch of snot nosed, ickle firsties."  
Ickle? Alright, whatever. "Whatever, alright,"  
Andy grinned. "That's the spirit! You'll have your Slytherin merch on your bed when you get to it. I don't wanna see you here a minute before 9:30!" Andy plopped down on a bench, where Cissa, Bella, Rodolphus and Rabastan were.  
Valyn turned towards the pour of students still washing out of the Great Hall, before catching sight of the Marauders.  
She popped up next to James, who noticed her presence immediately.  
"Gross!' He said teasingly, leaning away. "A snake!"  
Valyn laughed and mocked fangs. Peter giggled at her, and Sirius grunted at the three of them.  
"Don't be caught around us too often," Sirius warned. "Your friends'll ditch you."  
Valyn crossed her arms. "I'll do what I want, no matter what anyone says."  
"Atta girl," James praised. "Why aren't you with them?"  
"I reckon she likes us better," Peter said proudly. Valyn winked.  
"It's Slytherin tradition to explore the castle, according to Andy."  
Sirius looked behind him. "Andromeda's a compulsive liar." He said. Valyn blinked.  
"Your cousin?"  
"Yeah." Sirius flexed his shoulders. "All of my family's screwed up. Andy's a compulsive liar, Bella's a control freak, and Cissa's a neat freak. Reg's antisocial."  
"And you're a dick," snapped Valyn. They'd all been plenty nice to her.  
Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, well. I'd rather be a dick than a freak."  
James was looking back and forth between them, and Valyn couldn't see Peter's face.  
"Why do the Houses have different dorms- or, common rooms, or whatever they're called?"  
"Always been that way," Sirius answered. They'd walked a bit away from the people, and there was more space now; Sirius turned and walked ahead, walking backwards and facing Valyn.  
"So, Slytherin's is in th dungeons," Valyn said. "What about the other three?"  
"Gryffindor's in the Gryffindor tower, seventh floor, I think. Don't think much about it, now that my feet just know how to get there." James said.  
"Ravenclaw's towards the west, on the fifth floor on a spiral staircase. Piper McPeeler says you have to answer a question to get in." Peter added.  
"I think Hufflepuff's in the kitchens, or by the kitchens, or something," James finished.  
"Where are we going?" Valyn asked as they happened upon some stairs.  
"Well, we're going to the common room," Sirius said tiredly. "Dunno where you're going."  
She followed them. James and Peter started arguing over Piper McPeeler, and then how easy it would be to get into the common room. Sirius stayed quiet, too, and his eyes never left some part of Valyn. He didn't seem to trust her.  
Her thighs ached by the time they reached it- a portrait of a bigger woman in a pink dress.  
"That's..." Valyn said, taking it in.  
"Dead jumper," Peter said, and the portrait swung open.  
"Uh," Valyn looked uncomfortable. What?  
"You wanker," Sirius growled. "You just said the password in front of-"  
"Shhh," James said. "Now she knows it's a password!"  
"If she's got half a brain she would've already-"  
"Hurry up!" barked the woman in the portrait. Valyn spun and walked off as the boys filed into the portrait.  
She checked her watch- 8:23. She sat on a window sill.  
She waited, thinking. She didn't have any Slytherin garb on- she could sneak in and challenge Sirius to a duel. He was a dick, and she didn't like him- plus, having her there would definitely urk him. Now that a Slytherin knew the Gryffindor password they'd surely change it- and good. That was a weird password.  
It was just past 8:30 when she stood and walked back to the portrait.  
"Dead jumper," she said, careful not to look suspicious. Blood was pounding in her ears.  
Apparently, the woman hadn't been paying attention earlier, because she swung open. Valyn stepped inside- that was the easy part. She had to casually find Sirius in a room full of people she didn't know and couldn't ask.  
She'd made a mistake.  
She scanned the room- noone paid her any attention. There were two staircases- a pair of girls were walking up one. The other had to be for boys.  
Valyn walked quickly to it, rushing up it. She wasn't thinking straight- what if she were noticed? What if Sirius wasn't even up there?  
But she was faced with another problem when she got up the stairs; seven rooms, one for each year.  
She figured the easiest thing would be- leaving, honestly, but she'd made it so far, and in only... Four minutes. Valyn went into the sixth door from the left, only to see-  
An empty room. She closed the door, lest anyone come towards their room.  
There were five beds, all obviously lived in; two to the left, two to the right, one across from the door. Each bed had a wardrobe to one side and a desk to the other.  
There were pictures up by all the beds. The first to the left had pictures of James and an old couple- probably his parents. Exhileration overwhelmed her; this was the right room. The next one in held pictures of Peter, a girl who looked like him, and his parents, as well as one of a big, fluffy cat. The lone bed held pictures of Frank and a woman in atrocius clothing... Next, there were no photographs, only drawings. They were beautiful, stunning- some held drawing of his friends, casual and laughing. One had a Remus sleeping, and Valyn knew this was Sirius' bed- the prefect didn't seem much of one to do anything of himself. Some were of Hogwarts, but it wasn't the Hogwarts Valyn saw- a courtyard with silver brick, shining in morning light, a happy McGonagall surrounded by transfiguration notes, a simmering cauldron with a redhead's laughing face. It was lovely. The next bed had photos only of the Marauders, and Valyn sat herself on Sirius' bed.  
A door opened, and Valyn instinctively hid bed the bed, peeking up. Sirius was stepping out of one of three doors on the wall Valyn had entered through- from her position, the left one. It seemed to be a bathroom.  
His chest was bare, his hips wearing a towel, hair hair, too, wrapped in one. His eyes were downcast and unguarded.  
Valyn looked again at his chest. It wasn't as buffed-up as she'd pictured it to be, but his chest was stil broad. His belly had a cute little bubble on it, and dark hair dotted his abdomen. A v shape peeked over the towel, and Valyn found herself blushing.  
He didn't notice her as he walked to his wardrobe. He pulled out a pair of black pajamas and pulled it on, and Valyn had the decency to look away when he dropped his towel. When she looked up, he was drying his hair a final time before throwing it behind him to the open bathroom door.  
He plopped on his bed and Valyn shrunk down. How he wasn't seeing her was a mystery. He bent down to the other side of the bed and came back with a cigarette in his mouth, lighter in one hand. He lit it.  
"Enjoy the show, Val?" Sirius asked without looking at her.  
The American didn't move.


	4. 1,000,000 Unanswered Questions

Valyn finally moved her head up. "I looked away."  
Sirius reclined on his bed, then exhaled the smoke without removing the cigarette from his mouth. "I'll have to remember to get Remus to change the password."  
Valyn slid onto the bed. "I was going to challenge you to a duel,"  
Sirius looked at her and pulled the cigarette from his mouth, exhaling smoke again. "Why?"  
"I thought I don't like you," She explained. She was uncomfortable, she decided.  
"Thought? Sugar, you don't."  
"I think I could," Valyn said, looking at his art. "If you stop being a dick."  
"It's who I am."  
Valyn took his hand and touched it to the morning courtyard. "Is it?"  
Sirius looked at her, and she looked at him. Something passed through his eyes, but it was replaced by coldness. "Yes."  
"Maybe I can live with it, then," Valyn said, right before she kissed him.  
He let her. In fact, he ground the cigarette out on the bedframe and dropped it to the floor, then kissed her back.  
Her kissing him was soft and unsure, but when his mouth responded, it turned harsh quickly. His hands, now free, pushed her back into the bed, and he pinned her. His mouth locked with hers, showed her how to kiss- she hadn't known, had been just suckling on his lip- and one rough hand- the hand she'd held to the drawing- ran itself through her hair, brushed her face. She felt tendrils of sunlight and moonlight tickling her sleeping heart until it awoke, his tongue crashing against hers simultaneously, and Valyn groaned hungrily. The consciousness travelled from her heart down, making her stomach flutter, her diaphragm sputter, taking away her breath. She felt alive for the first time she could remember, in a way she'd never dreamed of- only, perhaps, had she ever dreamed of a ghost of this sensation. She whimpered into him as the life travelled lower still, introducing her to yet another almost new sensation- something she'd felt a spark of, but this... These were steaming, fiery embers.  
They kissed like that for God knew how long, her tucked underneath his big, significant body, before the door creaked open.  
"Oh," a familiar, distant voice said in surprise. Sirius kissed her again before pulling away. Valyn felt her eyes open wide to see him there, her chapstick around his face, eyes like flame. His breathing was only slightly off; she'd felt him breathe as he'd kissed her. She, however, was gasping in breath. Her asthma might act up if she didn't stop...  
"Don't stop for me," James snickered. "I'll leave-"  
"It's almost curfew anyway," Sirius said. "She should leave, anyway."  
Valyn blinked at him, ignorant to what he was saying. "What?" She asked her voice impossibly high.  
Sirius looked at her. "Was that your first kiss?" he asked. Valyn nodded, and Sirius did, too.  
"Go to bed, Val. It's 9:30."  
9:30? Didn't she have somewhere to-  
Andy!  
Valyn stood and started towards the door. "Wait," Sirius said. She turned.  
He slipped something into her hand and she rushed away without another word- down the stairs, through the portrait. She knocked into someone and they snapped at her to watch it, but she didn't care. She flew towards the Great Hall, asthma tightening her chest. She pulled out an inhaler from her bra and puffed on it, soothing it for then. She got to the Great Hall at 9:46.  
"Jeez," Andy said, looking at her. "You're late."  
Valyn tucked whatever Sirius had given her into her robe pocket. "Y-yeah," she said in a quiet, broken voice. "Sorry about that. I was... exploring." Exploring the inside of Sirius' mouth counted, right?  
Andy grinned. "Well, c'mon, cutie." Valyn started to follow the Black sister.  
"Okay, so. It's down past the dungeon corridor behind a stone wall- the password for the next week is Ilvermorny, in your honor," Andy winked at Valyn. "We all kind of have passwords; ours is chosen by the prefects, everyone in their House votes for Hufflepuff's, and the Fat Lady chooses Gryffindor's- the Fat Lady is the portrait their House is hidden behind. Ravenclaws have to answer a question to get into their passage- which confuses me, honestly, cause who can't answer a question? Anyway," Andy looked over at Valyn. "Don't let in anyone who isn't Slytherin. It's not technically against the rules- Hufflepuffs let people in a lot, and sometimes Gryffs and Ravenclaws do, too, but no non-Slytherin's been in our common room in, like, a century, or something. There's this huge prefect spiel about it." Andy led her down to the dungeons. "Anyway. Yeah, curfew's ten, but that's the curfew to be inthe common room- long as you're not annoying, you can stay up all night. You wanna?"  
Valyn blinked, then shook her head. "No, I'm pretty beat."  
Andy boo-ed. "Lame!"  
It was cold when Valyn slinked behind the stone wall after Andy and she shivered, but the farther they walked down the passage, the warmer it got until they were in a grand, gorgeous common room.  
One wall was all glass, showing beautiful green waters, a giant squid swimming passed. There was a fireplace underneath a giant serpant, and two spiral staircases across from the Squid. Green and silver furniture was dotted throughout.  
"Woah," Valyn whispered. This was the most beautiful place she'd seen since leaving Ilvermorny- the second or third most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.  
"Where's your dragon?" Lucius asked somewhere behind her.  
"Huh?" Valyn asked, then looked down at her shoulder. Attor was gone. "I-I-"  
"Lucius!" Bella's voice was a shriek. She ran into the common room.  
Her entire body was covered in gross, gooey slime. It was a bright, eye-hurting gold. "Those stupid, filthy, blood traitors-" she started, but suddenly, something in Valyn's pocket exploded.  
She shreiked and shielded her face, falling back. Lucius yelped and Bella _really_ shreiked, an ear-piercing, jaw-clenching, high-pitched banshee noise. When Valyn looked up from her spot on the ground, Bella was covered in crimson feathers- they were even in her mouth as she sputtered wordlessly.  
And then she was crying- weeping. Rodolphus appeared from the crowd and held her, sticking to her, and not caring.  
She punched him in the chest a few times before whimpering and sinking into him.  
"Th-those... Those damn bastards! This the la-last time..." Bella wept. Valyn stared, confused.  
"What were you doing with them," Rodolphus growled. His eyes turned to her, face full of hate. "When did they give you that? Did you think it'd be funny to prank one of the very few friends-"  
"I-I didn't know," Valyn stuttered. "I swear. I wanted to duel him, but... He gave me that, and James said it was almost curfew, and so I just, left." Valyn looked at Bella. "Wh-what is-?"  
"Potter adhesive, and cardinal feathers." Lucius said. "It's a prank they save for Bella and Cissa."  
Valyn frowned. "The... The Marauders? They used me to-"  
"Yes," Lucius growled. "They're bad people. But we'll get back at them, won't we, Bella?"  
The pranked girl nodded into Rodolphus, glue keeping her head on his chest.  
"How?" Valyn asked. Andy sighed, and Lucius spun.  
"How?" Lucius laughed, a cold, evil laugh that Valyn had never before heard. He got to his knees before her, still on the floor. He took her face in his hands, his eyes desperate and wounded.  
"How do you return six years of being plastered with the widest array of embarrassing things? Six years of spells cast behind your back that paralyze you, or put a boy in a dress, that put a girl in a chicken suit? Six years of the entire Gryffindor House making everyone who wasn't a Slytherin laugh and ridicule you? Six years of being put down for being in the only House that doesn't laugh when the Marauders cast their 'harmless jokes' on you? Six years of listening to Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and even Gryffindors insulting those fools, only to laugh and spit in your face when you find yourself trapped on top of the castle, and the detentions that follow because the professors don't care. McGonagall doesn't care, Dumbledore doesn't care, and Slughorn's too much of an idiot to notice. How? By taking it up a notch. By following a real, true, pure cause. By being better than those lowlife, blood traitors." The desperation in Lucius' gaze had turned to stone cold hatred, something Valyn had never seen.  
"Wh... What cause?" She asked, her voice small.  
"Voldemort," Bellatrix spoke up. "He wants to get rid of people like them."  
"He wants to get rid of everyone! Everyone who isn't like you and me and him." Snarled Andy. Bella met her eyes.  
"Exactly." Bella said in a low voice. Andy shook her head.  
"Voldemort?" Valyn asked.  
"The Dark Lord," Rodolphus said quietly. "He wants to get rid of blood traitors, muggleborns, and muggles."  
Valyn blinked. "... Why?"  
Bella laughed. "What do you mean, why? Your father was a Malfoy, was he not? He had to have taught you-"  
"He was disowned. Uncle Abraxas said... He said I was a part of his family, but my father..." Valyn sat up, curling against Lucius, the boy who'd been her one comfort over the summer. He held her like she were a puppy, stroking her hair in a way very, very unlike Sirius had.  
"Well. Let me just tell you this- Muggles, mudbloods, and bloodtraitors should be wiped out. Halfbloods are barely any better!" Bella twisted against the adhesive.  
"Someone get her some water," Lucius roared out at the crowd. Cissa. Andy, Rabastan, Crabbe, Goyle, Jo, and Demeter rushed off, and returned a few minutes later with three buckets of water and a bottle of Potter Anti-Adhesive. Lucius glared at the bottle as Andy, Jo and Demeter began to scrub Bella free.  
After a moment Valyn moved forward. "Can I help?"  
"Please," said Bella quietly, sobered again.  
Valyn began to work carefully at Bella's hair and Rodolphus' chest, being sure to be careful with her.  
"To your beds! Now!' Lucius roared. Everyone obeyed except for those dealing with Bella and Lucius.  
"If we have prefects, why can't we get them in trouble?" Valyn asked, cleaning Bella's curls carefully.  
"It makes it worse, and we don't have enough people behind us for that. Most people believe them because they're Gryffindors and we're Slytherins." Bella said, voice full of pain.  
"But you said they do it to everyone," Argued Valyn.  
"Doesn't matter," Cissa said, obsessively cleaning her eldest sister's back. "They have Lupin, and he had Dumbledore in his back pocket. Slughorn's hot for Potter and McGonagall's favorite is Sirius. Everyone is against us... The best we've gotten, is Longbottom got detention once. That's when they locked Lucius in one of the _real_ dungeons and left him to rot. If Bella and I hadn't gone down there to practice her occlumency..."  
Valyn's chest constricted. She imagined spazzy, odd James locking her brother in a dungeon, or giggly Peter spurting adhesive on Bella. She couldn't imagine Sirius... It made fuzzy white dots appear in her vision and made her stomach ache.  
She imagined the drawings on Sirius' wall. She imagined Sirius ignoring his friends to stare at her. She imagined Sirius at dinner, laughing and grinning at James. She imagined his face as he snarled at her on the train.  
 _My family has issues,_ His voice played in her head. _I'd rather be a dick than a freak.  
_ "He kissed me," Valyn whispered. Bella snorted in annoyance, and Lucius snarled.  
"He did what?" Valyn and Andy met gazes. _He sleeps around alot, I think.  
_ "He... Kissed me. Or, I kissed him. I don't remember..." Valyn scrubbed Bella's head free, and she sat forward. A few more scrubs from Andy, and she was free- though still filthy. Andy moved to clean Rodolphus' chest, and Valyn cleaned Bella's front while Cissa stayed at her back.  
"Don't even talk to him again," Lucius growled. "No cousin of mine will be just one of Sirius Black's slags," He spat the last word angrily, as if it were an insult, and it probably was- Valyn just didn't know what it was.  
"Sl-slag?" Valyn whispered.  
"Slut. Whore. Harlot." Lucius snapped, and Valyn winced with each one.  
"I-I'm not-"  
"Then it would be in your best interests to stop talking to the filthy minger." Another british insult... Valyn had been under the impression that they spoke the same language as she.  
Everyone was silent untill Bella was clean of adhesive, and still then- everyone retired without a word.  
Valyn put her Slytherin garb away and changed into her nightgown. She took the bed on the lone wall, and briefly wondered if there had previously been another girl in it. She lay there, in the dark, thinking.  
"Andy," Valyn whispered to the girl whose bed was the first to her left.  
"Mmph?"  
"What's a minger?"  
"A disgusting person, now go to bed."  
Valyn turned on her side and saw that Cissa, who was immediately to her right, had put the veil things on her bed down. Valyn sat up and, eventually, managed to do the same thing, then lay down.  
Where was Attor? He left her at home occasionally, and she'd find him later in the pool or forrest, sometimes by her father's bed. She had no doubt he was fine, but missed him...  
What was wrong with her? Why had Sirius kissed her? Why had he _used_ her? Had James known? Peter?  
Why did they always get away with that? Why did girls still want him? Why did _she_ still want him?  
She fell asleep with a million unanswered questions.


	5. Double in Trouble

Valyn awoke to see Andy above her, shaking her awake. "Get up, you big oaf," Andy hissed.  
"Hmm?" Valyn cooed, rolling over. "We have class, you big dickhead," Valyn's obsidian eyes opened.  
"Wha class?" She grunted.  
"Double potions with the Gryffindors," Andy said.  
"Si'ius?" She asked, then smiled brightly.  
"Uh, yeah. Wake up, girl, and get ready for breakfast." Valyn reluctantly rose.  
She stood soon after in her panties and bra, then looked at her cloak. "What do I wear under my cloak?"  
Andy laughed. "Nothing." Valyn looked at the girl as if legitimately offended.  
"What?"  
"The cloak is your clothes, nerd," Bella interjected.  
Valyn looked reluctantly at her, watching as Bella pulled the cloak onto her pale body in her plain black underwear. She wore no brazier, despite the tight fit of her cloak, and suddenly Valyn was uncomfortable with her own, overloose cloak.  
She looked between the sisters- Cissa was short and thin, Andy curved and short, Bella tall and thin. She'd probably fit best in Bella's robes...  
"Bella?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Can I borrow a cloak? Mine's kind of..."  
"Ginormous," Cissa said bluntly, and Bella laughed. The raven haired girl tossed another fitted, jet-black cloak to Valyn.  
"Here," Valyn smiled and thanked her, then slipped into the cloak and examined herself in the mirror.  
She liked it, really- it looked more like a dress than a cloak. At Ilvermorny, the cloaks had been like jackets, with uniforms underneath. Valyn examined the neck- it wasn't turtleneck and ruffled like Bella's, but lowcut like Andy's. The arms were tight down to the wrists, where they flared out. The bodice was tight, and so were the tops of her thighs, but the skirt flared into a mermaid style. She sat to pull on green dragonhide boots, open toed, showing her cute, french pedicured toes.  
She fastened her Slytherin badge into place and stood, then walked to the mirror in the right bathroom. She wrapped her hair up in a poofy bun, remiscent of a beehive, but much cuter. She put little dragon earrings in and spread her makeup across the sink and got busy.  
She had green and silver eyemakeup and nude lipstick, adding silver blush to accentuate her cheekbones.  
She walked out then, ready. Cissa had silver and ice blue makeup, and Bella had stuck to black and grey; Andy, however, kept her face bare.  
But then Valyn turned around. "Wait," she said. "Cissa and Bella aren't in sixth year,"  
Bella snickered. "We switched. Not a big deal, really."  
Valyn sighed. Apparently, absolutely no one cared about anything here. "Alright,"  
The four girls all walked down to the Great Hall, but they were early; breakfast started at six, and it was only five thirty.  
Three people, however, were also early- Alice Fortescue, Frank Longbottom, and Lily Evans.  
They all looked up and stopped talking. Anxiety instantly filled Valyn.  
"You're the new girl, right?" The redhead asked in a poor accent, surprising Valyn.  
"Yes." Valyn replied. Yesterday, she'd have introduced herself to them immediately... Today, she was not feeling as polite.  
"Well, I'm Lily Evans," the ginger said brightly. "Nice to meet you. Sorry about... Sirius."  
Valyn raised her eyebrows coldly. "Valyn Malfoy, and likewise. What about him?" She forced her voice to be emotionless. Frank and Alice exchanged looks.  
"Well, didn't he-"  
"He's done nothing to _me,_ other than plant one of his stupid prank things on me. Bella's the one who should be getting a sorry."  
Lily looked at the girl in question, who had her arms crossed and gaze averting, a glare on her pretty face.  
"Okay, look... I know she's your friend, or whatever," Alice spoke up. "And the Marauders aren't completely innocent, but neither are they-"  
"I'm sorry, did I miss the story when they super glued feathers to you people? So that it stuffed their mouth and made their eyes burn? So that they-" Valyn sucked in a breath, not daring to admit for bella that she'd wept.  
Alice and Frank looked down and Lily sighed, looking away.  
"We're not endorsing them," Lily said.  
"Val!" A voice hollared, and everyone looked over to see James coming forward, the rest of the Marauders in tow.  
In a split second, Valyn whipped her wand out and pointed it directly at James- the adhesive had said Potter, had it not?  
"Alarte ascendare!" Valyn roared, and James was sent flying up to crash into Sirius.  
Peter was quick to respond, but stumbled over the word 'levicorpus', so Valyn was quick to protect herself from the unknown spell,  
"Protego!" A shield envelpoed the girl.  
"Levicorpus!" I recovered Sirius roared at Bella.  
Valyn shot the shield to block her friend; none of them had their wands out. They weren't going to help her?  
"Confundus!" Valyn snapped at Sirius, who stumbled back.  
"Expelliarmus!" James cast at Valyn, and her dogwood wand flew away.  
Within a split second, however, she had her other wand out. "Immobulus!"  
James tensed, imobile.  
"Levicorpus!" Sirius spat, recovered. Valyn spat out 'protego' just in time.  
"What is that?" growled Valyn, before silently shooting Incarcerous at Peter, who was looking back and forth between everyone. He was tied up and, and fell to the ground.  
"It hangs you by your ankles," said a new voice from behind her. Valyn kept her Protego up to look back; Snape. He joined her.  
"Levicorpus!" Both Sirius and Severus said at the same time- Valyn transferred her shield to block Snape. Sirius lifted into the air.  
"Expelliarmus!" Valyn cast at Sirius, and his wand went flying.  
"Hey!" an older, wicked voice called. They turned to see MvGonagall. "What in Merlin's name?"  
"They started it!" Valyn roared. "Not the duel; that was me." She corrected. "But what they did to Bella last night-"  
"Unfortunately," McGonagall interrupted, eyes narrowing. She drew herself up and looked impressively terrifying; Valyn, however, raised her chin defiantly. "I was not there to see last night, Ms. Malfoy. Thirty points from Slytherin and detention for you and Mr. Snape every Saturday night."  
Valyn scoffed. And opened her mouth, but a recovered James spoke up.  
"Liberacorpus," he said, freeing Sirius. "We pranked Bella. She was just retaliating."  
McGonagall looked at James. "Ten points from Gryffindor, then?"  
"Only ten!" Valyn shreiked. McGonagall turned to her.  
"Why, yes, Ms. Malfoy. Duelling in the middle of the school is a far greater offense than a simple prank-"  
"Simple prank it was not! We were scrubbing cardinal feathers and 'Potter adhesive' off of her for the better half of an hour! Not to mention whatever Sirius gave me _exploded_ in my pocket and sent everyone flying!"  
Sirius was smirking, and James had a grin. Peter was giggling. "And they're laughing at it! I near had a panic attack because these devils planted something on me, and my friends thought that I was in on their stupid, not-so-harmless joke! And they're getting off with a lost duel and ten less points!" Valyn was shaking, nearly crying. Her voice was high; a crowd had gathered, all silent, all watching.  
"Minerva," a familair voice said. Valyn turned to see Dumbledore. "I think I'll handle it from here."  
"From what they've said, it's about time." Valyn grumbled, motioning towards the Black sisters, all stoic and peaceful. Snape was watching Lily, an odd look in his eye.  
Dumbledore's brow raised. "Do they feel like they've been treated unfairly?"  
Valyn raised her chin again. "Why don't you ask them?" she snapped. Dumbledore smiled.  
"If what you're saying really happened, did- and I'm quite sure you're right- then the four boys would be in much greater trouble. However, you can't prove it, and though i believe you, it would be unfair to punish them without proof."  
"I can prove it!" Valyn said. "Use legilimens on me, simple as that."  
Dumbledore blinked at her, then he smiled. "Legilimens."  
She felt him probing at her mind, and struggled to keep her guards down.  
She was following the boys to their corridor, then sneaking in behind them. She went to Sirius' room, hid behind his bed. He was kissing her- and then he gave her a small, round object. She was running back to Andy, then followed her to the dungeons. Lucius had come in behind her, then Bella- and the thing had exploded. She let the memory play up until she was about to ask how, then used occlumens to push him out.  
And then, she was in the real world again, head spinning.  
"Fourty points from Gryffindor," Dumbledore said mildly.  
"That's fifty in all!" exclaimed Sirius. "For one stupid prank-" He was furious, which only angered Valyn more.  
Dumbledore turned and tipped his head to the side, a small, odd smile on his face, and Sirius clamped his mouth shut. The Headmaster walked off, into the Great Hall, and McGonagall gave Valyn a once-over before following.  
Attor flew in over the Marauders' head and landed on Valyn's back, and curled into her, yipping. She rubbed his snout and, glancing at the time (5:56) strolled into the Hall as well. Severus was the first to follow, and then the Black Sisters.  
Valyn sat with her back to the rest of the Hall this time, and Bella and Andy surrounded her. Cissa sat across from her, Lucius to the left of her, Severus to the right. Others joined them; Rodolphus and then Rasbastan by Bella, Crabbe, Goyle, Jo and Demeter by Lucius, Avery and Mulciber by Snape.  
"Don't do that again," Lucius growled at Valyn without looking at her.  
"Do what?"  
"Stand up to them," Bella finished. "They're going to make it worse."  
"And then I will, too."  
Lucius looked at her. "No, Valyn."  
"But-"  
"Please," Cissa whispered. Valyn looked at her.  
"... Alright. Fine- I won't involve you people in my fight. But _I_ am not going let them do anything to _me._  
Her friends didn't reply, and she scooped up plain oatmeal on her finger and held it to Attor's mouth. He ate it greedily. Valyn ate bacon, fried eggs, and milk, and fed Attor porridge. Soon, Lucius and Andy were discussing their first class; double potions, taught by Slughorn, with the Gryffindors. Cissa and Reg had double transfiguration with McGonagall and the Ravenclaws, and Bella had double Charms with the Hufflepuffs. Classes confused Valyn, but Bella assured her she'd be fine if she stuck with Andy- something Valyn would definitely do.  
Breakfast ended at eight, and class didn't begin until nine, but nine of ten Slytherin sixth years still headed down to the potions dungeon right after, though they did have a pitstop in the restrooms.  
The class was empty, save the professor, and they began to pair up.  
Severus and Rabastan sat together in the back left. Lucius and Carlisle sat in front of them, and Evan and Andy before them. Demeter and Alecto sat next, until only Valyn was left; she took her seat at the two-person table beside Lucius.  
"You'll have to have one of the less annoying Gryffindors pair up with you," Lucius said. "Delores isn't welcome with us."  
Valyn blinked, then sighed. "Alright,"  
Lily, Frank and Alice walked in next, and Valyn made eye contact with Lily, really paying attention to her for the first time.  
She had long, flowing red hair, almost unnaturally crimson. Her skin was a natural orange/peach, and her eyes were a pretty, lime green. She had her hair down, trailing about as long as Valyn's, and her robe was fitted but simple.  
Alice, beside her, had a tighter robe, though plain as well. Her hair had been done in little knots along her scalp.  
Lily walked over and sat by Valyn, but Crabbe grunted at her; "Oi, mudblood. What makes you think you're welcome to-"  
"She is," Valyn interrupted, turning to look at Carlisle, then Lucius; the former shook his head, but the latter nodded. The American turned to smile at Lily, who smiled back. "And I don't know what a mudblood is, but your weird British slang is giving me a headache."  
Alice and Frank took their seats in front of Lily and Val.  
"Sorry about... This morning," Valyn said. "I was very-"  
"Don't apologize," Lily assured her. "They did something wrong, and you attempted to right it."  
Emmaline, Marlene, Mira and another girl walked in, the fourth trailing behind and obviously not a part of their group. Emmaline and Marlene sat in front of Alice and Frank, the front row, and Mira took a seat at the next table.  
The fourth girl was short and pudgy, with dull yellow-grey eyes and short brown hair. She wore pink go go boots and a pink headband, as well as atrocious, pink makeup. Mira invited her to join her table, calling her Delores. Valyn wondered why she was not welcome with her new friends.  
Only the Marauders were absent, and only the table behind her and beside that were free. She checked her watch; 8:37.  
She listened to Lily and Alice chat about Quidditch for about fifteen minutes before the remaining four boys strolled in. Sirius took it upon himself to look meaningfully at Valyn before sitting as far away from her as possible before yanking Delores' bow from her hair and flinging it.  
"Hey!" Delores shreiked, and Sirius grinned.  
"Five points from Gryffindor! Sirius Black, you move to the other table, behind Ms. Malfoy. She's a respectible young lady- I'm sure you wouldn't dare mess with her in my class." Sirius snorted, and Valyn was sure they shared the next thought; He was obviously unaware of the fight that morning.  
But Sirius did as he was told, sinking into place behind Valyn. James took the seat beside him, then Peter, then Remus.  
"Hey, Val," Sirius whispered. "You miss me?"  
"You're scum," she growled under her breath.  
"I just wanted to say," James interrupted. "I didn't help them yesterday. It was all Sirius and Remus."  
Valyn turned to glare at him. "You didn't stop them, though."  
"He's not a traitor to his friends," Sirius said accusingly.  
"Neither am I," Valyn said defensively. Lily, Alice and Frank were all listening.  
"You kissed me," Sirius said with superiority. "Not that I could blame you; I'm bloody irresistible."  
Valyn sneered at him. "Don't flatter yourself. I kissed you because-because I liked your drawings, and that's all."  
Sirius barked a laugh. "That's a terrible excuse."  
"It's the truth," Huffed Valyn, turning around. "And I won't be kissing you any time soon."  
"Wanna bet?" Sirius challenged. Valyn looked behind her again, eyes like black fire.  
"I want to bet that you're a no-good, egotistical, good-for-nothing billy no-mates who found himself a bunch of other motley idiots to make himself feel good," Valyn said, voice raising to a normal octave. Everyone looked at her, though conversations thankfully continued. She hoped she used the british phrase correctly- 'billy no-mates'.  
"And I want to bet that you're a goodie-two-shoes spoiled little munter who thinks she's all that; I want to bet that your father raised you on a pedistal to think all is always right in the world, and now you think everyone's got to be all sweet and lovey-dovey to you. I want to bet that you're a sad, pathetic little girl living in her own, righteous vision of the world, and I want to bet that you'll grow up to be a sad, pathetic drunkard whose been awoken to the harships of life and couldn't cope; that you'll be a wretched mother and a wretched wife to a boring, brainless git and that you'll realize that a filthy slag like you never could have been anything happier had you tried." Sirius responded, voice cold and hard. Tears of rage stung her eyes, and she tipped her head to the side.  
"You're just a sad little boy, Sirius Black. Your best insult is apparently to describe your family to me, yeah? Tell me, is that why you're so messed up? Because your 'mummy' was too busy in a bottle-"  
"Don't talk about my 'mummy'," growled Sirius. "You know nothing about me-"  
"And you know nothing about me! About how I was raised! How I'll end up to be!" Valyn roared. Everyone, including Slughorn, was silent. "Don't mock me because my father gave a damn about me. Don't tell me I'm spoiled, because I'm not."  
Sirius hooted a cruel laugh. "You're telling me the rich and famous Belial Malfoy didn't-"  
"My father was disowned by his family at eleven and stolen by Dark wizards and used for spell experimentation," snapped Valyn, feeling rage grow from the uncomfortable pulse in her chest. It poured out of her the moment Sirius had said her father's name. "My father, at thirteen, escaped the brink of death and fled to America. My father was penniless and loveless and fled to Ilvermorny, where at fifteen, he knocked up the Headmaster's daughter and was kicked out again. My mother died birthing me and he had me, no money, no home." Valyn felt tears on her face as Sirius stared at her, the whole room stared at her. "My father made us a house with his bare hands, wandless, magicless. He finally got a job cleaning up dragon dung when I was five. I grew up in a stick house filled with bugs, but it was filled with love. I was dirt poor, but I had love. I knew hardship, but I knew resilience, and I knew ambition and passion, and I kept it when my father worked up the ranks until he owned his own damn dragon reserve. Don't tell me I'm spoiled. Don't tell me I'm sad or pathetic because I know I am strong, and you know nothing." Valyn finished, face covered in tears. She breathed in and out slowly. She felt and hand on her shoulder and turned to see a wide-eyed Lily stroking her arm comfortingly. Valyn wiped her eyes and turned, then glanced at her watch.  
It was 9:00.


	6. Sound of Silence

Valyn wrote lyrics out in cursive on spare parchment, her i's dotted with hearts, her y's curling up. She was supposed to be taking notes for History of Magic, but Professor Binns' teaching made her want to drop dead.  
She sat surrounded by her friends. The Hufflepuffs were on the exact opposite side of the room, as if Slytherins were lepers. It made Valyn uncomfortable; Houses at Ilvermorny didn't care who was what.  
Feelings were dancing in Valyn's chest as if it were a ballroom of light and dark. In one moment, she was hating Sirius for everything he said, everything he did. In another, she was grateful to Sev for joining her in her duel. And in another still, she was furious at her friends for laying down and taking the abuse. She remembered Sirius' drawings, all fresh in her mind... But she could see the courtyard drawing as if it were in front of her. Every detail, every pencil line, every fraction of an inch. She remembered the light, brilliant green of the grass swaying slightly in the wind. She remembered the pale rose tones, casual golds, sleepy peaches of the sun, the beams shining and making small particles of dust sparkle... She could see the detailed, silver stone, as if pouring from the hand of God himself. The stones had detailed, passionate cracks of time, the filling scorched charcoal by the elements. Deep, sensation-inducing emerald vines sputtered up around a pale yellow window, a candle just inside, burned down as if left lit all night long. She could picture the vast, colorful sky, the right edges of which were pretty, innocent blue.  
That drawing sparked something deeper in her than her heart, her stomach; it stirred life in her soul. The Sirius she'd kissed had not been the Sirius who'd created that drawing... The Sirius she'd kissed had not been the unguarded, freshly clean Sirius she'd seen as he walked from the bathroom.  
The Sirius she'd kissed was the Sirius who'd pranked Bella, the Sirius who'd ridiculed her and blamed her for retaliating.  
The Sirius who'd she'd seen straight from the shower was the Sirius who'd drawn that picture, and the one she'd briefly seen laughing with James, and Valyn was determined to unlock that Sirius, because...  
Because, Valyn became sure in an instant, the Sirius who'd drawn the courtyard held the key to the stirring in her soul. He was her love... Her soulmate.  
Valyn sighed through her nose. She'd never thought about that before; she hadn't thought about romantic love at all, she realized. Many a nights she'd stayed up deciding everything about familial love- the love she'd shared with her beautiful, wonderful, perfect father.  
Whenever she saw her father, something automatic kicked her brain into life. He'd stirred that in her, always- her mind. He made her think, made her aware, made her every emotion of the brain. Love was just a mess of chemical reactions after all, right? He was her logic, her ambition, her focus and her love; the only one worthy of her.  
But Sirius was... Something else. He stirred the emotions in her heart- things that she had never felt before. Passion held a different meaning to her. Love meant something else. Desire was nothing like the drive she had felt but a week ago.  
A week ago. She'd known Sirius for just over twenty four hours; she thought of her father mocking Romeo and Juliet, and anyone else who made-believe love because their beau was cute.  
But how could love take time? It was predecided, Valyn felt. How could you meet your other half and _not_ know right away?  
What was love, anyway? Wasn't it just... A manifestation of passion, quite similar to hate? In a way, they were twins... She hated one Sirius, and loved another... Or rather, one part of him. If they were twins, then the opposite was... Indifference. Passion and indifference were opposites, yes- and love was the opposite passion of hate. She'd lived in a world of pleasent, happy, content indifference, and Sirius had spun her into a world of passion she wasn't sure she could handle- she wasn't sure she wanted.  
Where did the passion come from, then? Had it been laying dormant inside her, waiting for something to give it a single ripple before spinning outwards until a single finger's tap turned the sleeping emotions into a giant, raging tsuname? Was she doomed to feel it raging in her for the rest of her days, or could she leave it alone until it slowly lie back down at sea level, never to be disturbed again?  
Matter couldn't be gained; she'd learned that in primary school. Matter was a definite thing, with matter not being created nor destroyed... So where did it come from? Did everyone have their own alotted amount, or could it be stolen? Had she taken those ripples from the very core of Sirius? Is that why lovers slowly became more and more alike?  
She didn't know, and she couldn't decide. Her head hurt and her chest ached with emptiness. She was craving Sirius, the things he awoke in her. She was craving sensation, emotion, feeling. Her ripples had settled too quiet for her body to be content.  
Her final class of the day finally came to an end, and she- like many others- fled from the room. It was three in the afternoon, and Valyn needed to find something- someone.  
But who could awaken her like he? Who could make her heart flare, her stomach flutter, and the apex of her legs yearn?  
No one. She ran outside, small satchel of her supplies on her shoulder.  
"Valyn?" Lucius called after her as she started to run towards the front enterance. She ran out and scaled the building, searching.  
The castle was giant, and it took her nearly an hour to find it, but-  
There. Here. This place... This was the muse of the soul drawing, the morning courtyard.  
It was hardly a courtyard; just a little coincidental area, a half-circle between two towers. No candle sat inside the rectangular window, but blackness poured from it. She could see the drawing as she stroked the cracks in the stone wall.  
And Valyn sunk into the grass, tucked into the corner from the picture, and hugged her knees. She was free until dinner, and even then, she didn't have to go. Attor climbed over her shoulder into her lap, and she lay there, petting his snout, staring into the swaying grass. The shape of the nook made it well-ventilated; air entered and was brushed along by the walls, circling the nook until it left again.  
She closed her eyes, feeling safe for the first time since she'd lost her father. No- safe was not the right word. Feeling... Secure. Calm. Sound.  
She basked in the silence as the wind drew to a stop, and even the wind in the nook ended, and listened to the sound of silence a moment before it started to burn her ears, her mind.  
And then she remembered the one thing her father had ever sung, and began to sing it there, over and over, by Simon and Garfunkel.  
She slowed it after the first verse, deciding she liked it better that way, and made the tone more mellow, deeper.

Hello darkness, my old friend  
I've come to talk with you again  
Because a vision softly creeping  
Left its seeds while I was sleeping  
And the vision that was planted in my brain  
Still remains within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone  
Narrow streets of cobblestone  
'Neath the halo of a street lamp  
I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed  
By the flash of a neon light  
That split the night  
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw  
Ten thousand people, maybe more  
People talking without speaking  
People hearing without listening

People writing songs  
That voices never share  
And no one dare  
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools, " said I, "you do not know  
Silence, like a cancer, grows.  
Hear my words that I might teach you  
Take my arms that I might reach you."  
But my words like silent raindrops fell  
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed  
To the neon God they made  
And the sign flashed out its warning  
And the words that it was forming

And the sign said,  
"The words of the prophets  
Are written on the subway walls  
And tenement halls."  
And whispered in the sound of silence

Valyn closed her eyes. Her father had had a nice, plain voice- honest and pure, calming and warm. The song was over ten years old, and as soon as it had come out, her father had used it to sing her to sleep whenever she'd had a nightmare.  
Her father had had a nice voice, but it hadn't been anything special. Valyn, however, had been gifted a golden voice, or so her father had said. It was her one true talent; she couldn't create a story, nor sketch anything pretty. She couldn't coordinate a bouquet, nor cook a mout-watering meal. Song was her only art, and she made it often.  
The wind began slowly again, colder now, and it tickled her arms until goosebumps formed on her cheeks. She shuddered into herself and let her voice carry louder, deeper, as she reached 'Fools' in the song, adding undesignated, raw feeling pour into her voice, and she sang on, the same song over and over, until her voice was raw and the air made her clench her arms around herself.  
She stood, shivering in the shade. She was east of the castle; sunlight didn't bless the nook anymore. She urged Attor into his spot on her back and headed into the castle.  
It was six thirty when she walked into the Great Hall and joined her friends. She wordlessly took a spot in between Reg and Snape, across from Greyson, Jo and Demeter.  
She pulled parchment from her satchel and pushed aside her empty plate, ignoring her growling stomach, placing the parchment on the table and hunching over it. She took out a pencil, figuring drawing with ink would be difficult, and drew a very unpretty sketch of the other side of the nook, carefully shaping the wind as it blew. She drew carefully, and though it wasn't pleasant, it was obvious as to what it was.  
Her view of the nook. Attor's head was at the bottom of the page, and two tendrils of hair was sucked from the left to the right of the page.  
She took out her dogwood wand to charm the page into life, and soon Attor was swaying to the beat of her song, her hair billowing to the pound of the wind. She folded the page until only a tiny hole into the center was visible, and she pressed her lips to it, taking a good three minutes to sing the song into it so that it would play when opened. She finished folding it after, ignoring the fact that her company was watching her. No one spoke, though, something Valyn had gotten used to in her new clique.  
It was five minutes until eight when she finished. She carefully flew the folded parchment using 'winguardium leviosa' to drop in front of Sirius, who was not facing her then. He turned around just as Valyn turned back to face her plate and grabbed a piece of some meat to quickly harvest until dinner ended, unsure what would happen next. She should have written a time, or a date, or something... She could, perhaps, simply go right after dinner. She'd go the long way, though- the way she'd gone originally. She hadn't thought about east or west; she rarely did.  
She handed Andy her satchel when dinner ended and said she'd see her at curfew. Confused, the usually talkative girl only nodded. Valyn walked away, quickly as she could.  
She was almost to the western side of the castle when she began to run. She padded her bra, but her inhaler was absent; her chest began to tighten, but Valyn didn't care. She wanted to meet Sirius in the nook...  
She ran as fast and as long as she could, and made it to the back of the castle; the north. She paused, leaning against the castle, panting fervently, until her breathing calmed and her chest soothed. The, she continued running.  
She felt like she was about to die by the time she reached the northeastern corner of the castle, but she was so close... She continued running.  
She collapsed when she reached it, falling to the ground, but the wind made it harder to suck air into her thin, clogged airway... She crawled to the window and curled up, waiting for her breathing to come back, but it didn't. Maybe she shouldn't have ran... Maybe she shouldn't have given Andy the satchel with her inhaler... Maybe she shouldn't have gone the long way...  
Maybe she shouldn't have come, she thought, a mere moment before the lack of oxygen pulled her into unconsciousness, and there she slept all night to the sound of silence.


	7. A Different POV

Valyn wouldn't wake up, not even when Sirius smacked her as hard as he could.  
It was four in the morning, when Sirius always went to this spot. He'd strolled here, listening to Valyn's angelic voice play from her atrocious sketch, mesmerized, but when he'd saw her, he'd dropped the parchment on the soaking dew. She was wheezing pathetically, curled underneath the window, and she was freezing to the touch.  
Sirius picked her up. Her dragon was nowhere to be seen. Sirius held her in his arms; she weighed more than she looked to. He tucked her cold, limp body close to him and started speed walking. He had to get inside; then, all he had to do was yell.  
He rammed his shoulder into the door and it opened- he yelled loudly.  
"Help!" Professors and House Elves always seemed to be in earshot at Hogwarts. "Help!"  
Filch was the first to come into view, and he stepped heavily on the ground five times. Sirius was rushing towards the hospital wing, but it was on the other side of the castle. As if on cue, Valyn's breathing stopped, and her body began to spasm into itself.  
A House Elf rushed forward and took hold of both Sirius and Valyn and Apparated them into the hospital Wing.  
Madam Pomfrey rushed over when the gunshot sound of it sounded, and Sirius rolled Valyn into a bed at her direction. He shooed to the edge of the bed at her command, and Madam Pomfrey began casting spells.  
Sirius was only then overwhelmed with a flood of emotion.  
He was angry. Why had she been there? Why had she looked for that spot? Why had she found it?  
He was afraid. What was happening to her? What if it got worse? What if she died, if he'd found her too late?  
He was a lot of things, and most of them didn't have names that he knew.  
It was a flood of feelings all too familiar to him, things he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Mother'd done a lot of shitty things when he was younger, after Father had died. She often couldn't be woken, often spasmed in front of him. Terror and horror and hatred surged in through him, familiar but still very, very impactive. He sunk to his knees at her bed.  
What the fuck was going on- with Valyn, and with him?  
"It's just an asthma attack, Sirius," Pomfrey said. "But it doesn't want to get under control. I need you to go get her inhaler; just knock on the Slytherin wall until they open it."  
"They're not going to let me in, and they won't give her inhaler to me." Sirius said.  
"Then have them accompany you," Pomfrey said, annoyed.  
She didn't understand... But he couldn't argue. He turned and walked as quickly as he could.  
Asthma, huh? Why had it acted up in the corner? Sirius didn't know much about that, but Wormy had it and it didn't just randomly work up, at least for him.  
Had she been running? Why hadn't she had her inhaler? Wormy always had his. Did singing make the asthma work up?  
He pushed her from his mind. He could ask her when Madam Pomfrey got her conscious again. As for himself...  
He'd promised himself when he came to Hogwarts he wouldn't allow himself to care about anyone other than himself. His relationships with his roommates had started off cold and hateful... But eventually, when they were all worried about remus dissappearing, he couldn't deny how... Happy, his three friends made him. He'd changed his promise on the train home; never, ever would he let love make him feel the way his parents made each other feel, or made him and Reg feel. Never, he'd added, would he feel more than desire for a girl; he hadn't that far, and James and Peter had been well into their wet-dream self-discovery portion of puberty.  
But in second year, he'd started crying at night, and could only be comforted by sharing Remus' bed. They didn't touch or anything (James said that would have been 'gay'; something bad, to most people, anyway.) at first. But after the first time Remus came back from a full moon, exhausted and near tears himself, Sirius had curled into him, and Remus had curled back.  
It didn't stop until fourth year, when Moony started dating Emmaline.  
Sirius had been very, very hurt. He'd loved Remus, in his own way... Drawn him pictures and snuck him food from the kitchens. Remus had been something solid to cling to, a salvation... And Remus had started going with Emmaline, a prissy, girly _girl._ Females were the root of all his problems; his mother, his cousins, Dolores Umbridge, and now Emmaline.  
But Sirius had gotten over it... In a really dick-ish way. Remus left Emmaline because he'd started to like Marlene (who definitely had been in love with Remus since first year.) But she didn't know... And Sirius had kissed her, knowing full well that Remus was going to ask her out; really, that was his only motivation.  
But that night Sirius had found out the 'temptations of the pleasures of the flesh', as Mother had referred to it. And he'd become addicted; every girl, every House, was his target. He worked up a bit of a harem, and never had the same girl more than once in a row. He'd at least snogged over half of the girls at Hogwarts- including Emmaline, Remus' first girl, Marlene, his crush, Alice, Frank's girlfriend, and Lily, his best mate's girl.  
But James, to this day, didn't know that, and he was sure Lily would never, ever tell that she'd found comfort in sharing a bed- or rather, desk- with an arrogant rake one day in fifth year, after O.W.L.s, after she'd lost her best friend.  
It had taken Sirius admitting that to Remus for their friendship to really be normal again. Soon after that, they'd started their Animagus transformations.  
And now, here they were, a new girl in their midst. He hadn't liked her; she was snotty looking and uppity, though he couldn't ignore she was extremely attractive to him. Not many girls peaked his interest the way she did... But no one had made him so bloody angry, either.  
She'd spoken weird, too, pronouncing things in a weird way that he did not like. American accents, he decided, were atrocious. But she was fiery and righteous.  
He remembered seeing her behind his bed. It'd been hard not to laugh; did she think she was covered? He'd enjoyed slowly slipping off his towel, dressing in the slowest, most endearing way possible... Had she really looked away? What a shame. And then that deer-in-headlights look when she'd crawled onto his bed like a toddler, sitting in front of him. She'd been so... Innocent, and pure, and bright. That shouldn't have endeared him the way it had.  
And the things she'd said! Of course she didn't like him. The only girls who did only wanted to share an hour or two, and that was perfectly fine with him, as he wanted just that with them and nothing more. And she'd suggested...  
And then she'd kissed him. By Gods, was she a bad kisser... Just sat there with her little lips on his bottom lip. Still, her touch had set fire to his skin, and it had taken all he'd had to get rid of his cigarette before pinning her to his bed.  
Her stupid, gigantic robe had been much in the way; he couldn't rub her hips, tickle his skin against her breasts, but that was probably for the best. When he'd started kissing back, she'd learned quickly, and soon became one of the best kisser's he'd ever tasted...  
And her mouth itself. She tasted odd; she wasn't sweet, she wasn't salty, she was... Sour. Her saliva seemed tangy, but... He'd liked it. He drank from her, not sure what she'd eaten, but wishing she'd never eat anything else... She was cold, too, her tongue like thick, round, soft ice in his mouth, and he liked it. It was so, so mad... But he needed her.  
And then James had came in, and Sirius had broken the kiss. He'd almost let her get away before remembering the prank he'd started with Moony... And he'd given her the feather bomb. Luckily, she hadn't inspected it, just ran off.  
And then the next morning... She used the shield charm too much. But she'd faught off three people quite easily; Remus never involved himself in that, And when Snivellus had joined in... She'd protected him! That had turned Sirius from exhilerated to furious in a half of a moment. He could have shown her levicorpus, shown her which side she should choose...  
And she'd ruined it. He was going to accept her! Didn't she want that?  
And what she'd said to McGonagall... No one talked to the Headmistress like that, but she didn't know; it was awesome. Sirius had been amused again. And she'd suggested Dumbledore use legilimens on her... Did the girl have any secrets? Dumbledore could have- and probably did- see them kissing...  
And then, in the classroom. He'd been angry at her, for teaming with Snivellus, for her superior attitude, for her self-righteousness, for making him want her.  
He couldn't clearly remember what he'd said to her, but she'd cried. And what she'd said to him...  
And, and, and. He needed to pay attention to where-  
But he was lost. His feet knew enough to lead him here, to the dungeons, but...  
Where was he?  
"Fucking cunt," He exclaimed, then spun in a circle. Then, as loud as he could; "Myrtle!"  
It took a moment, and he thought she wouldn't come, but the ghost of a girl his age called Moaning Myrtle slowly appeared. "Yes, Sirius?' She cooed flirtatiously, but he knew she was still mad at him.  
"I seem to find myself lost," Sirius said, looking around. "Can you lead me to the- no, actually. Can you go into the Slytherin girls' dorms and get me an inhaler?"  
"Why?" Myrtle asked, circling Sirius.  
"My... Friend. She's got asthma; she needs it."  
"So? Why should I care about your 'friend'? I'm sure you have lots-"  
"I'll send her to your bathroom later," Sirius said. "I'm sure you'll get along great."  
Myrtle turned to him. "Promise?"  
Sirius smiled his brightest grin, and Myrtle all but swooned. "I promise."  
She disappeared, and came back about five minutes later. "I found it in a little purse... Next to your rotten cousin, Andromeda." Myrtle made a face, and Sirius laughed wolfishly, taking it. "Thanks, doll. D'you know where I am?"  
"She sure does," said a voice behind him before everything went black.

Sirius woke up sometime later, head wet, brain pulsing painfully. Everything was dark, and Sirius was groggy... He rolled over, onto his back, and the back of his head stung- more. He sat up with a groan, then touched the back of his head. Blood. Where was he? What happened? The last thing he remembered was her pretty voice...  
Fools, said I, you do not know. Silence likes cancer grows...  
Sirius lay back down and listened to her sing. So pretty... Blackness overtook him.


	8. Blood and Elvendork

Valyn awoke in a bed in a big, bright room.  
"Oh, thank God," Andy whispered gently from somewhere to her left.  
"I... Where am I?" Valyn asked, voice quiet and dying, throat raw.  
"Hospital wing," said Rodolphus to her right. She looked to see him and Bella.  
"Why?"  
No one responded.  
"Sirius Black found you outside of the castle early this morning. Sometime last night, you experienced a dibilatating asthma attack and fell unconscious. He brought you here." a woman came in, looking like a nurse.  
"Where is he? Who are you?" Valyn sat up and scooted back against the headboard.  
"I sent him to get your inhaler, but apparently he had Rodolphus deliver it, instead. He hasn't come back. It's just past six; he's probably eating breakfast in the Great Hall."  
Valyn looked over at Rodolphus.  
"I am Madam Pomfrey, the nurse."  
Valyn closed her eyes. "I suppose I have to go-"  
"You're not going anywhere," Pomfrey said, and Valyn opened her eyes to look at her. "You're staying here where I can monitor your airways. Your friends, however," She cast them all a look. "Need to get to the Great Hall for sustenance before class."  
Andy sighed. "You're not allowed to go anywhere without your inhaler ever again," she muttered.  
"Did you cry?" Valyn teased, and Andy shot a playful glare before standing.  
"Seriously, Valyn," Bellatrix said. "We were worried,"  
Valyn snorted dismissively, but a happy feeling piqued her chest as they left her.  
She stayed the whole day in the Hospital Wing, going in and out of sleep throughout. It wasn't until just past five that someone again visited.  
Rodolphus was to her right, closer this time. His eyes were sunken and tired, his usually neat hair fallin into his handsome face.  
"Hey," she wispered tiredly, mildly surprised that he was here.  
"Hello. I'm sorry about- about Black." He said. Valyn blinked.  
"What?"  
"Pomfrey said he hit you, repeatedly." She blinked, trying to remember last night. She remembered running to the nook after flying that note to Sirius.  
"I... He... What? Why'd he bring me-"  
"Maybe to try not to seem guilty. He must've Oblivated you, if you don't remember... You've got marks."  
Valyn didn't understand why he'd hit her. She yawned and turned... Maybe because she was still half asleep.  
Rodolphus chuckled. "And... I'm sorry about accusing you of being in on it, before. You're tired, I see, and it's almost dinnertime... I just wanted to let you know, I took care of it." Valyn was practially asleep by the time he stood, and her brain didn't register his next words. "I took revenge, for Bella and for you. You needn't worry about Sirius Black... Ever again."  
Valyn slept through dinner, but near seven, someone else awoke her.  
James Potter sat to her left in the same seat Andy had earlier. Yawning, the American motioned for her company to speak.  
"We can't find Sirius," the usually perky Gryffindor said somberly. "Which usually wouldn't be very worrisome, but... I've got a bad feeling, y'know?" Valyn met his hazel gaze. "I know that you probably don't know, but..."  
"No, I don't. I'm sorry."  
"Could you... Could you help us look?" James asked, looking away. Valyn frowned.  
"I mean... Why?" James sighed.  
"I think he likes you," James murmered quietly, and Valyn outright laughed.  
"You're definitely wro-"  
"No, Valyn. I've been his best mate since first year. I know him better than the poor lad knows himself. He likes you loads, and that's why he treats you like he does. I mean, it's been two days, and you've insulted him plenty and bloody duelled him."  
Valyn thought about that, and decided she was lame.  
"I don't like him," she said in a matter-of-fact voice, lifting her chin. James snorted at her.  
"Oh, please. I'm not stupid." Valyn raised her brows at him.  
"You sure?" James pushed her.  
"Madam Pomfrey?" the tan boy called. She came out then. "Can she go now?"  
Pomfrey sighed, and nodded. Valyn stood and took her inhaler from the nighttable, then pocketted it. She was accompanied by James out.  
"Alright, well. How do you usually find him?" Valyn asked, strolling towards wherever James was leading her. His face turned reluctant, but he sighed and put a finger to her lips, picking up the pace.  
He led her up several staircases, and Valyn thought he was leading her to his common room, but he stalked past the Fat Lady's portrait. He was going very fast, and they were practically jogging, but soon, they were walking straight at a brick wall.  
"Wh... Where are we-"  
But then, a door appeared in the wall. James opened it for her and she walked into-  
It looked like a dungeon, cold and unwelcoming, and James followed her in.  
"This is the Room of Requirement. It shows itself only to people who need something; I need to know where Sirius is. We use it to get away, or for..." James got a little smile. "We're making a map, you see. It'll have the entirety of Hogwarts on it, any floor you want to see, and every single person in the castle. But it's not done yet... So we can't find where he is right now. But, anyway, the Room is showing me where he is... Only, I don't know where that is, other than in the dungeons, and I don't know why he's been there all day."  
Valyn looked at James. On his usually bright face there was a deep concern was etched, and in his hazel eyes there were traces of fear.  
She remembered a spell her father had taught her... But also his warning to use it only in a life or death situation. She couldn't...  
"He hates the dungeons, Valyn," James whispered. "The only time he ever, ever goes down there is for potions. It reminds him of- of his mother." James cleared his throat. "And if he'd gone to get your inhaler, he wouldn't've had Rodolphus deliver it; and he definitely wouldn't've missed out on the opportunity to razz you for needing saving,"  
Valyn tensed. "You're suggesting someone got a little payback on him? Trapped him down there?"  
James sighed. "A few years ago, I don't remember when, me and Sirius hit Malfoy upside the head and trapped him down there for a bit. he was down there for about a day, and we would've gone down to free him, had Snivellus not found him beforehand."  
Valyn stared at James. There was no humor nor ill-will in his voice; he spoke as if of the weather. "Why? Who's Snivellus?"  
"Why? Well... Malfoy'd smacked Narcissa, and Narcissa's Sirius' cousin. He deserved it, you see." James scratched his chin while Valyn imagined Lucius smacking Cissa. "Snivellus is Snape."  
"Why d'you call him that, then?"  
"Dunno. We don't like him; he's a slimy git."  
Valyn couldn't form a response to that, and when she was silent, James looked at her.  
"You've got bruises on your cheeks," he informed her.  
"Have I?" Valyn asked with a frown. "Well. If Lucius was alright in the end, what makes you think Sirius won't be?"  
James sighed. "You see, that's the thing. Sirius hit him a little too hard; he got a concussion and almost fell into a coma. If we'd known-"  
"Oh, my God," Valyn picked her hair up and held it as if in a ponytail. "Y'all are idiots,"  
"But, listen- they're worse than us because-"  
"Because they're Slytherins?" snarled Valyn, anger bubbling up in her.  
"No! Because they're Death Eaters. You probably don't know much about that, but... They're followers of this really bad guy, named-"  
"Voldemort?" Valyn asked. James nodded. "Well, whatever." Valyn dropped her hair. "Come on, to the dungeons... Just, stick to the shadows or something. No one can know I'm helping-"  
"I'll grab my Invisibility Cloak," James said brightly. "It's in my dorm." They walked back to the portrait of the Fat Lady and James slipped inside, then returned a few minutes later. He wrapped the Cloak around himself, and disappeared. Valyn reached out and touched him, awestruck.  
"I've never seen an Invisibility Cloak that worked so well," She whispered. "Is it new?"  
"Oh, no. It's been in my family for generations." Valyn gawked, then shook her head.  
She led him down to the Slkytherin dungeons, but motioned for him to wait behind the stone wall, out of the way. She rushed to her room, where only Bella was, asleep in her bed. Valyn silently grabbed a vial and rushed back out, to James, and led him off to the side, out of sight. He removed his Cloak.  
"This vial is full of a mix of dragon and unicorn blood. It puts the drinker in a mediative state and someone has to cast a spell on the drinker for it to take affect... The seven spells are for killing, healing, finding, warming, cooling, changing perpetuating states. It is infallible, but at a terrible cost... The drinker is doomed to be the last of their loved ones to die." James looked at the silver-pink liquid, before reaching a hand out.  
"No, I'll drink it," Valyn said quietly. "I promised my father I'd never let anyone else resign themselves to it... But I need to drink all of it for this to work. I need you to tell me that this is definitely neccesary..."  
James stared at the vial for a long, long time. "I... I..."  
Valyn yawned, then closed her eyes, thinking. Was it really that urgent? Why did she feel so... Inclined to do this? Why did she feel so afraid that Sirius was-  
 _I took care of it. I took revenge for Bella and you._ A familiar voice rang through Valyn's head and she opened her eyes with a start, memory popping into her mind.  
"Rodolphus," she whispered.  
"What?' James asked, looking behind him as if the Slytherin boy were there.  
"He came to visit me before dinner. He told Sirius had hit me... And that he 'took care of it'." Valyn frowned. "But still-"  
"Valyn," James said, fear overtaking his face. "Rodolphus- he's already gone and gotten the Dark Mark-"  
"The what?" She asked. James sighed, urgency in his very breath.  
"Please, Val. I promise I'll explain everything- after we find Sirius. I promise it's neccesary to take that potion; it's life or death, potentially. Because if Rodolphus put him somewhere, Rodolphus does not intend for him to be found."  
Valyn looked down at the vial. "The incantation is Invenio Incustoditus, and the hand movement is a counterclockwise swirl starting on the outside top." She shuddered, preparing herself. She'd skin Sirius Black alive... Then she uncorked the small vial and drank.  
"Invenio Incustoditus," James spoke, doing the motion.  
Valyn felt the visions of her world fade away until everything was a dark, foreboding blue. James's hair was white, his skin blue, almost as if she were seeing life in the negatives. Thought melted from her as a bright white light appeared, like a string leading the way. Her feet began to follow as she failed to notice the bottle fall from heer hand.  
It led her though dungeon after dungeon as her company placed himself under his Cloak once more. For nearly half an hour she led James around, until her string of light went through a closed door.  
Her ears were deaf to the labored breathing that came from behind the door, the pain in it's raspy gasps, and deaf to James' screamed "Padfoot!" as he lunged himself at the door.  
"P-prongsie," croaked Sirius. "I-I'm hurt."  
James alohamora'd the door, but nothing happened. Valyn pushed him aside thoughtlessly and gripped the doorhandle, twisting wiht inhuman strength until the lock and the magic that held it still shattered. She pulled the door open and Sirius Black fell onto her feet; only the contact with what she was searching for broke her magic induced state.  
She gasped out of it and looked down; he looked like he'd been splinched, chunks of flesh missing. He'd been stripped of everything but boxers.  
"Paddy," said James in terror. "What-"  
"A Praetrunco potion," heaved Sirius.  
The meaning sunk into Valyn quickly. "Accio dittany!" she cried, and imagined the dittany from her trunk fly all the way down until...  
It landed in her hand, a giant tube of essance of dittany. She dropped to her knees behind his head and James sat beside Sirius; together, they applied it to all of Sirius' wounds until they all appeared several days old.  
She handed James the tube. "Have him drink it,"  
"It's poisnous if you-"  
"He's bleeding internally, James. he'll die." James looked at her, then Sirius, who opened his mouth. James poured it in.  
"Accio bezoar!" cried Valyn, and it took a moment to arrive, as she did not have her own. Sirius began convulsing, but she stuffed the small rock down his throat. A moment later, he stilled, and in relief, James sagged onto the doorway.  
"We need to get him to Pomfrey-" James fell off the doorway as the old, rotting wood gave out.  
The dungeon started convulsing in a very specific manner... A booby-trap jinx often used to keep people out.  
"Fuck," Valyn hissed, looking out.  
"Elvendork," Sirius hissed, voice still cracking.  
"What did he just?" Valyn began as the dungeon started collapsing, but a motorcycle with a side cart flew at them.  
James shoved Sirius into the side cart. "Can you drive this?" James said before shoving her into the driver's seat. She twisted the right handlebar and it zoomed forward.  
"Kind of, just not very well," She cried. James threw his Cloak on Sirius.  
The destruction of the dungeon became more rapid, and Valyn kept on giving the bike more gas. James reached forward from the passenger seat to flick two switches; instantly, they and the bike grew invisible, and the sound the bike produced died. She led them for an hour out of the dungeons, eventually finding the way out.  
She flew them up from the Slytherin dungeon where first years were entering the common room; it was probably almost curfew. She didn't land the motorcycle until they were inside the Hospital Wing, where James unflicked the invisibilty switch.  
Madam Pomfrey nearly fainted.  
"Oh, Merlin's beard-!"  
James lifted his mate up and dropped him into the closest bed, the one valyn had occupied not two hours ago.  
"Someone used a Praetrunco potion on him and left him in the dungeons. I used essense of dittany on him and had him drink it, then gave him a bezoar." Valyn said. Pomfrey was already casting healing spells.  
"Go get Dumbledore, a-and Slughorn," said the nurse, cheeks reddening. "I don't get paid enough for these disasters."  
"I'll get Slughorn," Valyn said. "I don't know where Dumbledore could be."  
James nodded and ran off, and Valyn quickly ran to the Potion Master's office back in the dungeons, puffing twice on her inhaler. She rappidly rapped the door until he answered.  
"Quickly," Valyn said breathlessly. "Pomfrey needs you."  
They ran up together, dodging the motorcycle precariously in the middle of the wing. Dumbledore and James Apparated in moments later.  
James started pushing the bike out of the way. "Valyn, run and get Remus and Peter. They'll be in the common room waiting; the password's still dead jumper."  
With a sigh and a puff on her inhaler, the girl ran up all the way to the seventh floor to fetch the two remaining Marauders.  
"Dead jumper," she panted at the fat Lady, who opened up. Valyn climbed in.  
"Remus Lupin!" she called. "Peter... Er, whatever!" Remus and Peter popped into sight, both frowning. "It's Sirius," she said breathlessly, then held up her inhaler... to find it empty. She shook it, tried, again, and cursed.  
"Here," peter said, taking one from his pocket. Valyn thanked him and puffed, knowing very well that could be a bad idea... But it worked. Better than her own, actually. She handed it back and led them back down towards the Hospital Wing.  
They didn't run this time, thankfully. Valyn's legs ached, and so did her head and chest.  
"What happened?" Remus asked, worry in his voice. Valyn explained everything, and Remus and Peter exchanged looks.  
"So, what's a Death Eater? A Dark Mark? Who is Voldemort?"  
Remus answered: "Voldemort is the most powerful Dark wizard in history. He's got himself a bit of a following, and most of your new friends are a part of it. Rodolphus Lestrange is the only one who's got a real Dark Mark... But it's not illegal yet, so Dumbledore's got to let him stay. There are Death Eaters attacking the Ministry and muggleborns, but Fudge and his merry lot have turned a blind eye..." Remus clenched his jaw.  
"Hard to believe that he's the same Roddie Lestrange from first year," remarked Peter lightly.  
"Why isn't this a more widespread thing? We usually hear about it in America when someone attacks someone else's ministry,"  
"Because Fudge is denying it's happening, saying that they're unrelated homegrown terrorists." Peter explained. Valyn kept her mouth closed.  
"Valyn!" someone roared as they got to the first floor. She spun to see her cousin. "It's after curfew, and i told you to stay away from-"  
"Rodolphus did something to Sirius," Valyn said. "I know I'm supposed to stay away from him, but I couldn't let him die. I-"  
"Rodolphus may have done something," said Lucius, annoyed. "But he wouldn't have killed-"  
"He gave him Praetrunco potion and put a booby-trap jinx on the dungeon." Valyn said. "Sirius would have died."\  
Lucius looked at his cousin for a long time, then looked down. "Is Black safe now?"  
"Yes, he's-"  
"Then go to bed, Valyn. It's passed curfew."  
Valyn looked back, but Remus and Peter were gone... Probably to Sirius, without her. Valyn sighed gently, then nodded and walked to her cousin, who put his arm around her,  
"I'm on patrol... I'll walk you, though." he said quietly, leading her away. She leaned into her.  
"I love you, Lucius," she whispered. She'd never thought about having a brother, but... Maybe she did now. She was so tired... Sirius was but a subthought as Lucius led her away.


	9. Little Miss Purity

"Valyn," Lucius replied with a small smile. "I love you, too."

Valyn yawned and thoughtlessly followed Lucius' guiding until she was in her own bed, where he lay her and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight," he whispered. If Andy, Bella, or Cissa were awake, they didn't show it.

"Goodnight," Valyn replied in a high-pitched, sleepy voice.

The next few days, Sirius Black was not seen in the Great Hall or in classes. Valyn often thought about him, deciding that she was being... odd. She would wait for him to talk to her, and if he didn't... well, she'd write off her weird, girly urges as hormones and force herself to forget about him. She knew she should do that anyway; he was a jerk, to her friends and to her, and he didn't seem particularly fond of her.

She would often argue with herself over him, and muse over James' words. She didn't allow her thoughts to travel to the blood vial, and what that meant for her, much preferring torturing herself over Sirius. He'd kissed her; he obviously liked her well enough... but he slept around, Andy had said, he was just treating her like... like a slag, according to both himself and Lucius. The word, though foreign to her, made her wince.

She thought of his motorcycle, too. And the word Elvendork replayed itself in her mind over and over... Was it a spell? A spell to call the bike? Could it be- had Sirius named his bike that? It was an odd name... Even in the Wizarding world.

It was Saturday that Valyn saw him again. He was walking out of the Hospital Wing, one arm around James and one around Peter. Remus was beside James. Sirius tried to make the arms slung around his friends look natural, nonchalant, and casual, but the limps and winces every time he took a step suggested otherwise.

Valyn was alone, a rare thing since she'd rescued Sirius; her friends seemed to be worried she'd do something else heroic. Bella had scolded her for risking her life for them, and Lucius had forbade them from telling Rodolphus that Valyn had helped retrieve Sirius from the dungeons.

She'd gotten to see more sides of her friends. Bella was wicked and witty, bright and sharp-tongued, but utterly enjoyable. At night, she tended to whimper in her sleep. Rodolphus was her boyfriend of four years, and was very... Odd, to Valyn. He was polite and absolutely doted his girl, but whenever the topic of muggles, muggle borns, or those who didn't despise them both as much as he did, he got very... Well, he would remain tolerant and his voice would stay neutral, but he would say horrible, horrible things that made Valyn squirm.

Pureblood supremacy, Andy called it; from how she'd explained it, it was kind of like racism, but for blood status instead. She thought it wasn't his fault, it was how he was raised and all he knew. Valyn didn't know how to feel about that, so she tried to just ignore that and what he'd done to Sirius. Andy said that she hated those parts of her friends... Bella, Cissa, Lucius, Rodolphus, Rabastan, Crabbe, Goyle, Jo, Demeter, Evan, Reg- even Sev, a halfblood- all had a little bit in them. She said Reg, Sev and Evan were the least, but... Valyn shuddered.

She learned more of Voldemort and his merry Death Eaters, too. All of Valyn's new friends, save Andy, were at least interested in joining the Lord Voldemort, dubbed the Dark Lord by his followers. She learned that there was an actual war going on outside of the school, a whole messy situation that she, being a foreigner and tucked into Malfoy Manor, had been blissfully safe from.

She'd also learnt of the Order of the Phoenix, something the Marauders were a part of, as of the summer. Something Andy was interested in; it was the only thing that opposed the Death Eaters at that point in time.

So Valyn stood there, mind racing, as she watched Sirius hobble out with his friends.

"Hey, Val," James called brightly, breaking her thoughts. "C'mere,"

She glanced around, but they were alone. Still, Valyn felt a sense of dread.

"We can go somewhere more private," James said as if reading her mind. "If you're worried about that. We need to talk to you though..." Valyn shifted, looking at him. He was it an outfit similar to what he'd worn on the train, but purple. "Meet us in that, uh, room, on the seventh floor. We've gotta get Sirius some clothes first."

Valyn nodded, then rushed away. They were headed the same way, but Valyn didn't want to risk being seen with the boys. Before, it was just a silly schoolyard quarrel; now, if she were seen with them, it would place her within a belligerent of a war she didn't even see the purpose of.

She rushed quickly to the Room of Requirement, really unsure if it would even let her in... But it did. The room this time held four chairs and a single desk, on top of which was a very long piece of paper. The floors were wooden, the walls a golden brown, and it was a very rich, homey room. She sat herself in the seat in the middle of the desk and looked down at the paper.

It was a Map, the top of which boasting it's name, as well as Messrs: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, and Valyn briefly remembered Sirius and James calling each other the last two. If memory served her as correctly as it usually did, Padfoot was Sirius. She reclined, thinking about her outfit entirely because of Sirius Black; she hated both herself and him for it.

She wore a psychedelic crop top, mainly yellow and orange, and yellow bell bottoms atop yellow gogo boots. There was a yellow headband on her head, and her hair was bumped up behind it, a few strands in her eyes. Her makeup was tan and yellow, very natural.

The Marauders hobbled in about ten minutes after Valyn's arrival.

"That's my seat," Sirius grumbled, arms not on his friends but the wall as he stumbled into the small, office-like room.

"There are only four seats," Valyn said. "And I'm not going without one."

"I'm injured," Sirius said incredulously as his friends stole the other seats before he could hobble to one.

"Make one them move. Sit on one, I don't care," Valyn said, crossing her arms. James snickered at her. Sirius hobbled over to her, though.

"You're the girl, you sit on someone's lap." He argued. Valyn scoffed.

"Oh, please. I wouldn't touch any of you with a ten foot pole."

Sirius' eyes grew amused, mocking, and Valyn glared. "Oh, pretty please, m'lady," he sneered. Valyn looked away.

Sirius shifted his body weight to lean on the desk, quite close to Valyn, and lifted her into the air. She yelped and twisted, but even injured, Sirius was much stronger. He threw himself into the chair and held Valyn quite tightly in his lap. James laughed at her, and Remus watched in amusement. Peter didn't seem to be paying attention.

Valyn squirmed, making sure to put all of her weight on the leg that seemed to be worse, but Sirius didn't seem fazed. His hands were around her waist, big, warm and rough against the soft, pale skin of her thin, curved waist.

"Get your hands off of me," she snarled. Surprisingly, he listened, reclining in the seat. "Uh, thank you. Now- what do you people want?"

"Rodolphus tried to kill Sirius," James spoke up, sobering. "And all of your friends are practically Death Eaters."

Valyn crossed her arms, saying nothing. "I don't know enough about that to care," she said, quieter than normal. Luckily, no one commented on that.

"Dumbledore's going to ask questions soon," Remus spoke up. "If he hasn't started already."

Valyn's neck got a shiver, and she shuddered. Rodolphus would get in trouble. "So?"

"So, we're not going to lie for your friend, and we thought you should know," Sirius said in a tone that was both unembellished and superior, which irked Valyn.

"I wouldn't expect you to," Valyn said righteously. "What he did was wrong. You got your punishment, however weak it was. He said he did it partly for Bella, and partly because you hit me,"

"I didn't hit you!" Sirius exclaimed, suddenly angry. "I don't hit girls-"

"My cheeks had giant bruises, and one started to welt. Madam Pomfrey said you probably tried waking me up, but she said when she first saw me, it looked like I'd been beaten. Rodolphus read it wrong, I suppose." Valyn didn't look back at Sirius.

"Speaking of that," Sirius said, still livid. "Why were you there in the first place? What made your asthma work up?"

Valyn squirmed at the other Marauders looked at her. "Your drawing was pretty, and I went looking to see if it was real. It was, and I liked it. I sent you the paper to tell you I found it... I just like the place, is all." Valyn mumbled the entire excuse.

"Mmm, I bet," said Sirius doubtfully. Valyn turned red.

"Listen, jerk, it's school property I can go wherever I-"

"Yeah, whatever," Sirius dismissed. He wasn't the suave, cool punk guy she'd previously envisioned... He was as snotty as she was, and a bully. All of the girly thoughts she'd had about him seemed stupid, and it made her redder. Why would she ever kiss _him?_

She went to stand, but he pulled her flush against her chest and she let out an oomph.

"Why don't you just admit, you're in love with me?" said Sirius in a cocky, mocking tone. James grinned, amused, and Peter looked up from staring at the golden necklace he wore.

"Oh, please!" Valyn exclaimed. "I've known you for all of a half of a week, and even if I'd known you a lifetime, it wouldn't change the fact that you're an annoying, pretentious, womanizing dickfuck!" He let her go then, and she immediately got to her feet and turned. He was glaring up at her.

"What did you just call me?" He snapped. Valyn sneered.

"Annoying. Pretentious. Womanizing. Dickfuck."

James burst out laughing, doubling over, and Valyn snarled at him in annoyance, but he didn't seem to hear.

"It's better than being-"

"What, Sirius? What is it better than being, and how would you know?" Valyn snapped. Sirius didn't reply, just glared. "I may grow up to marry someone who isn't a leather-wearing, motorcycle-driving, adventure-seeking punk but at least I won't grow up to be a sad, bitter, lonely burnout with no friends because they at least seem to be half-decent, and all too good for me." She hissed at him. Something in Sirius' eye twitched, and she knew she'd hit a button in him. James had stopped laughing.

Valyn didn't move. She didn't want to leave, for some reason, so she just stood there, trying to figure out what had changed in Sirius' eyes for a full moment before he looked down and closed his eyes, rubbing them with a thumb and an index finger.

"Get out," he whispered without his usual meretricious and tawdry tone, instead just sounded completely and utterly blank; it was like seeing a blank canvas come from a dark, evil masterpiece. Valyn didn't move. "Get out!" Sirius roared, looking up, eyes painted with hatred.

Valyn raised her chin, but her usual defiance felt like vulnerability. "Why?" she whispered. "You're allowed to insult people, but as soon as they say it back-"

"I said get out, you little whore," he growled, surging to his feet and peering down at her as if she were tiny. She stood her ground.

"I'm not a whore,"

He paused, head tilting, and then he sneered.

"No, you're right. You're a self-absorbed tease, little Miss Purity." He stepped closer to her, and they were all but touching. "You judge me for being a 'womanizer' just because I like to have a little fun. Not like every girl I kiss doesn't already know what's up. Don't condescend to me because you're too high-strung to do what you want."

"I do exactly what I want, when I want." She was getting dangerously angry, the passionate hatred surging up into her chest.

"Then why was I your first kiss, buttercup?" he said, smiling at her as if she were digging herself into a hole; maybe, she was.

"You're the first person I've wanted to kiss!" She exclaimed angrily.

Sirius' smile changed, brow quirking, and soon, he was smirking down at her.

"Oh, I'm _honored-"_

"Don't be," she hissed, then turned. Sirius grabbed her shoulder.

"What!" she exclaimed, spinning. "You hold me in your lap, then you tell me to get out, then you're grabbing me again!" Valyn was nearly spitting. "Make up your damn mind!"

"I'm trying," Sirius said, as much hate in his eyes as Valyn felt.

He kissed her then, holding her head in his hands. She gasped in surprise and his tongue pushed itself into her mouth. James cleared his throat, and despite the hatred rapidly turning into happy, stupid love, she had the sense to pull away. She turned and fled from the Room of Requirement, panic overwhelming her.


	10. Princes and Devils (And Parental Murder)

Valyn was back in the dungeons before she realized where she was going. She rounded the stone wall and, murmuring the recently changed password (Exploding Dungeons) and slinking into a chair, mind and heart racing.  
"Hey, Val," It was Reg, who was beside her; she hadn't even noticed him. He seemed to be in a very foul mood.  
Well, so was she. "Your brother keeps kissing me, damnit," She said. "He hates me, but he won't stop. It's confusing."  
Regulus looked at her sharply, eyes calculated, and for a moment she regretted telling him. After all. she didn't know him, and if Sirius was a dick to all his friends-  
But he laughed, and looked down at his folded hands. "Yeah, he's... Diconcerting."  
Valyn gave a snort at the fancy vocabulary, before realizing that she, too, was fond of ridiculously uncommon, unneccessary adjectives. "He's absolutely vexatious. Positively exasperating. Incredibly maddening."  
It was the boy's turn to chuckle at her words. "Sounds like you're made for each other," He said in a decidedly mild tone.  
"Are you two close?" Valyn asked, deciding not to rise to his comment.  
"Oh, no. We used to be, before Hogwarts, though." Regulus gave a smile.  
He had the exact same face as Sirius, though the way he wore it was entirely different. His smiles were small, guarded and tense, albeit cordial, whereas Sirius wore giant, arrogant, fiery grins. Like she'd thought before- if Regulus were a prince, Sirius was the devil. Unfortunately for Valyn, she'd always been much more infatuated with evil than royalty.  
Regulus' hair was wet, presumably from a shower, if the fresh, brisk scent wafting from him meant anything. The short-ish hair was drying, though, and it fell into his face. His eyes held a wicked intelligence in them and Valyn thought that he may be a prince, but he couldn't be too noble a prince. She wondered briefly if it was environmental.  
"What is Elvendork?" Valyn asked, and Regulus gave a loud, honest laugh, one that held a whisper of Sirius' playful demeanor with James.  
"Elvendork is Sirius' motorbike," Regulus said, grinning. "He got it from Potter's dad for his sixteenth birthday, and not a month later, he left."  
"Left?" Valyn asked, studying the slightly younger Slytherin's face, which was sobering.  
"Sirius ran away last year, a bit after his birthday. Lives with Potter, I do believe." Valyn folded her legs, one on top of the other; not quite Indian style, it was actually a yoga position.  
"May I ask why?" Valyn asked quietly. Regulus cleared his throat.  
"Well, believe me when I say I am not the one to speak for Sirius Black, but.." Regulus sighed and smiled in a resigned fashion. "Let's take a walk, Val."  
They walked out of the common room and through the dungeons, Valyn's companion assuring her they wouldn't get lost.  
"Sirius was our father's golden child when we were younger; he was their heir, and I was the spare. Mother doted on us both equally, but I believe saying father was partial to Sirius is an understatement. We were close, though; we have compatible personalities. He's big and bold and playful and mischevious, and I'm mild and observant and I enjoy seeing others enjoy themselves," Regulus gave a smile, far away smile, reminiscing. "I was his baby brother, and he was my best friend. But he's about ten months older than me, and he went to Hogwarts first. When he got Sorted into Gryffindor..." Regulus looked down, somber. "It didn't chang that he was the heir, but Mother was livid. She began to favor me, and whatever happened, when he came back that Christmas he was not the brother I remembered. He was... Distant. Cool, if you will. I thought it was being a Gryffindor... I thought it changed him. He was cruel when I got Slytherin the following year, and he progressively got worse, standing up for blood equality and the like. Things like that didn't bother me; I'm not a supremiscist, you see. But he's gotten so irksome; he'd do things for the sole purpose of angering our parents. Our mother was enfuriated- she swears she hates him. Their relationship went from average, over-spoiling mother and the son who'd shrug her off to a wicked, evil woman and some self-righteous fool. It wasn't until he started going on about loving a male werewolf that she started..." Regulus cleared his throat. "My father had had enough of it. Said Sirius was no heir of his; I became the favorite of both of my parents. Sirius got even closer to Potter, and started visiting them over the holidays instead of m- us. Me and Sirius continued to drift apart, as he's been an outright maggot to my mates. Then, during the winter holidays, he came home, loaded up what he wanted from our house, and flew to the Potter's on his massive enchanted Elvendork. Refuses to speak to me, too, what little I've tried. Mother mailed him the emancipation and disowning malarkey, and she burned him off the family tree." Regulus sighed.  
"I... I'm sorry, Regulus." Valyn whispered, he looked at her for a long time, and she didn't break eye contact. Suddenly he stopped and faced her, and for thirty seconds, she watched as the walls, restraints, and decorum slowly faded from his eyes.  
"Our mother is insane. She was amazing to us one moment and would jinx us the next. Her favorite curse was the Cruciatus."  
Valyn froze, looking at him. "Sirius doesn't like love. he's not fond of niceties, or companionship, and he isn't used to it, either. I don't know what he accepts from the Potters or the Marauders, but from anyone else, he accepts nothing, Valyn. Don't get attatched to him. Don't fall in love- you'd do yourself best by forgetting about him entirely."  
The blonde looked into the brunet's eyes, green and vibrant with stunning patterns visible with her close proximity, which were filled with some feeling Valyn was pretty sure did not have a name. She breathed out her mouth something like a long, drawn out, silent sigh, shaky and visible in the dungeon chill.  
"I don't know what love is, really," she said quietly. "But I do believe I feel every emotion in the world for Sirius Black, all at once."  
Regulus looked at her for a long time, his seemly composure rebuilding inside his eyes. "That's very unfortunate for you, Valyn. You'd do well to stay away from black cats, white lighters, and ladders- they're bad luck."  
Valyn got a brilliant smile. "I only use white lighters," she said, knowing exactly what he was referring to.  
"That's your problem, Val," Regulus joked. "Now Sirius will never love you."  
Valyn laughed brightly, and they turned around.  
"I've tried to kill myself three times," Valyn said, and Regulus' head swivelled to look at her, but said nothing.  
Feelings surged throughout the girl, and she looked to the side and down, giving a small smile. When Regulus found that she would not indulge more, he asked in a very quiet, gentle tone, "Why?"  
"My mother died giving birth to me. The first thing I ever did was kill," she said, feeling the tears prickle her eyes. "And it ruined my father. He loved me dearly with what little heart he had, but he... He would go insane, I guess. Grow cold and distant and cruel, and he'd leave me alone in the woods for weeks. Sometimes, I was his perfect little princess, and others, I was the devil who killed the only person who'd never rejected him." Valyn was crying now, and Regulus stepped in front of her. She let him wipe her tears away and pull her forehead onto his shoulder. "And I couldn't handle it. I am a weak, weak person. The forst time, I was eleven, and I tried to use the Killing Curse on myself. My dad made me kneel on pine cones and screamed at me that the next time I wanted to die, he'd gladly assist. The second, I was fourteen, and my dad was crying because he'd nearly thrown me into a dragon pen on purpose. I tried to cut myself but my hand... It wouldn't cut deep enough no matter how hard I willed it to. And the third was..." Valyn wrapped her arms around Regulus' shoulders, which was easy, since they were the same height. "I magicked myself to be tied to a traintrack, and waited. My father found out, but his magic... It doesn't always work, ever since I killed mum. He untied me but his stupid boot got caught. We would've barely made it, but he- he lost his leg, and I was panicking, and I didn't get help because I was too stupid to-"  
"Shhh," Regulus said as Valyn became hysterical. She could see it all happening again...  
It was the middle of the night and Valyn couldn't take it anymore. She's scratched through the skin in her arms again and stalked out to the railroad tracks, barefoot and in her nightdress, her hair a mess. Her eyes were wild, practically unseeing, and she could hear her parents whispering; _You killed me,_ her mother accused. _You stole my life and left your father stuck with_ you, _a rude and useless ingrate. You've driven him insane! He's nothing now, just like you.  
Did you mean to do it? _Her father was asking cruelly. _Did you mean to wrench the life from her beautiful eyes? I bet you did; you're evil. But even if you didn't it doesnt change the fact that you're repulsive, nasty, and worthless. I'll be much, much better without you- maybe even happy. Don't you love me, Valyn? Don't you want me to be happy?  
_ Yes, Valyn thought. It was the only thing she wanted...  
But that was a lie. She was a selfish, evil little girl, and the only good she could possibly do was rid the world of herself. She sped up and pulled out a wand made from Slytherin's tree; the tree that grew from Salazar Slytherin's wand, her ancestor. She used the Incarcerous spell to tie herself to the tracks.  
The train was coming, and Valyn was numb, listening to her parents ridicule and belittle her. She was crying as she lay there, though she did not utter a peep nor move a muscle in her face. Her finger nails, too long for her own good, were digging into the soft flesh of her palm, and she felt blood drip.  
She could feel vibrations from the oncoming train by the time her father found her, frantic and near tears himself.  
"Valyn!" He cried out loudly, panic in his handsome voice. His accent came out whenever he felt something wtrong, or was drunk. He was both that night.  
He tried to use magic to get her out, but it simply wasn't working, so he feverishly worked at the thick rope until she was free. Valyn didn't move at all, and barely noticed that she was being removed until her father tried to pick her up.  
"No!" she shreiked in the voice of a deranged woman. The train was too close to stop now, and if it did, it would only kill her slower- if they were even seen in the black abyss of the moonless night. "No, I have to die, I have to make you happy-" she babbled, fighting her father with bloody fists.  
He was strong, but so was she, and it took him a hot minute to flig her out of the train's way. The buckle of his brown leather boot caught- and the train was so close-  
Logic broke through her catatonic self-hatred, and she dove for her father, but his magic prevailed and he sent her flying.  
She shot towards her father again, the night blocking the details of the loss of both of his legs.  
"Daddy!" she shrieked so loudly that the Heavens shook. She dragged him away from the train, weeping. "It's all my fault," she gasped. "It's all my fault, all my fault, all my fault again-"  
"Princess," he muttered. Had the bloodloss and intoxication not been unravelling his train of thought, he'd have told her to call someone, but he just touched her face. "It's not your fault. I love you,"  
"You shouldn't," She sputtered, and moved to push on the wounds before the smell hit; she wrenched away and vomitted.  
"Daddy don't leave me," Valyn grunted when she turned back.  
Her father bled out in minutes.  
When she stopped remembering, she was in someone's arms, being carried bridal style. She opened her eyes to see Regulus, who was carrying her into the common room.  
He set her on an empty couch when he noticed she'd woken up.  
"What happened to her?" Bella said from somewhere over the back of the couch, voice surprisingly concerned.  
"We've all got demons, even little miss perfect," Regulus said, sitting in a chair by the couch. "Valyn graced me with the opportunity to see a few of hers."  
"I don't have any others," croaked the sleepy girl. It probably wasn't even dinner. She didn't know much besides the dream, and the walk she'd gone on with Regulus, and their talk...  
But Andy jumped the back of the couch and sat in front of Valyn's legs. Things were coming back.  
"What is it, four?"  
"Just about five," Andy corrected. Valyn nodded and turned onto her side.  
"What demons?" Bella asked, peeking over the back of the couch. Curls fell into Valyn's face.  
"I killed both my parents."  
"You did not," Regulus and Lucius said simultaneously.  
"She seems vicious enough, with her pretty blonde hair and pretty voice," Bella said, feeling Valyn's forehead. "You're warm."  
"I'm smokin' hot," corrected Valyn, and Andy laughed.  
"Seriosuly, the dungeons are freezing. How-?"  
"Overactive blood flow." Valyn said without the slightest clue as to what that was.  
"Yeah, and I've got dragon pox," Bella said with a frown.  
"Should probably get that checked out," Valyn informed her, running fingers through Bella's hair.  
"You're a pest,"  
"A surprisingly enjoyable one, though," said Valyn with a smile. Her friends laughed.


	11. Regulus' Lucky Lad

Valyn awoke on her own just as Andy was stirring awake, too, and she smiled and sat up. The Slytherin blonde definitely was not a morning person, but for some reason, she was very happy today.  
She got out of bed with flourish, standing and looking for clothing to wear. On weekends, she decided, she'd wear her own robe with clothes underneath- as uniform clothing was not required out of class, but was during meals- and until she could get to Diagon Alley for Christmas, wear the spare robe Bella had lent her for the semester. Today Valyn chose a denim skirt and psychedelic crop top, paired with her favorite gogo boots. She tied her hair up and out of the way and put on only mascara, then headed to the common room to mingle before breakfast.  
Regulus was there, something that made her even happier. After last night, when they'd both shared secrets neither were close enough to deserve, she decided she'd befriend him and hopefully get that close. She sat beside him, but he wore a heavy face.  
"Reg?" She prodded gently, holding her oversized cloak in her lap. He looked at her and gave a debonair smile. Valyn deduced that something was bothering him, but not enough to spoil his entire mood. "What's up?"  
"With me? Oh, nothing-"  
"Codswallop." she said with a fake accent, and he laughed quietly.  
"I, uh... Relationshop issues, I suppose."  
Valyn's brow raised and she grinned. "Who's the lucky lady?"  
Regulus cleared his throat before scanning those around them, then leaned slightly closer and whispered. "He's a lucky lad, if you will," he grumbled under his breath, and surprise jutted through her.  
Her father had never taught her about anything like that. As far as she knew, boys liked girls and girls liked boys... She never really talked to anyone at Ilvermorny- she was more than a little bit of a bookworm, at least when it came to reading for leisure- and she'd never actually heard what being gay was.  
"Oh," Valyn said, voice more than a little confused. "Okay," she said with a shrug.  
Regulus examined her face for a moment before sitting back, apparently satisfied with what he'd seen. "S'Peter," he added quietly.  
"Sirius'-?"  
"Indeed," Regulus said, sitting back before chuckling as if he found it ironic.  
"You've got to tell me everything," Valyn ordered happily, ecstatic that she was not the only one in an odd situation with a bullying Gryffindor.  
"We'll go for a walk by the Black Lake after breakfast," assured Regulus with a smile.  
"Reggie!" someone announced from behind the couch. Evan Rosier, an attractive blonde, jumped over the back of the couch much like Andy had and plopped onto the seat beside Valyn. "Scoping out the cuties before I can?"  
Regulus smirked. "Back off, Rosier," she said teasingly. "She's hot for Sirius."  
Evan got a dismissive snort and examined Valyn. "She's not his type,"  
Valyn tensed, frowning. "And what is, if I might ask?"  
"Stupid, shallow slags, I reckon," Evan said thoughtfully. Valyn turned her pretty nose up, and Evan leaned forward and whispered seductively in her ear. "Luckily for you, brilliant, bright-eyed beauties are my type, and I'm recently single." Evan put his hand behind her.  
"Because his most recent bright-eyed beauty dumped him for Longbottom," Regulus said in a cruel voice.  
"Little does Emmeline know, though, that Longbottom's hot for Fortescue," Evan said, not seeming fazed by the mention of his ex. He gave a finger wiggle.  
"So does everyone here have a thing for a Gryffindor?" asked Valyn girlishly. Regulus laughed outright.  
"Well, no," Evan said brightly. "Here, lemme spill the dirt for you. Reg likes-" The boys' eyes met. "Well, you know. I like no one, really, right now. Bella and Rodolphus are dating, Andy has a secret thing for this Hufflepuff bloke Ted Tonks-"  
"Do not!" said Andy's voice right before she appeared. She and Evan shared a look, then Evan continued. "Cissa and Lucius are together. Carlisle and Jo, Grey and Demeter, Rabastan likes a Ravenclaw named Saiorse O'Briar, but she's hot for that Finnigan bloke. Hmm... I think that's it for us?" He looked between Reg and Andy.  
"Valyn's part of us," Reg said after a moment.  
"Well, yeah, but I'm not gonna tell her who she likes!" Evan grinned.  
Valyn giggled and reviewed it in her head. Regulus and Peter... She thought about that. Regulus was a cute, thin, quiet and debonair guy, who seemed formal and honest and bright. Peter was short and goofy, though quiet and imitating. He was short and chubby, and while he wasn't neccessarily ugly, his resemblance to a mouse was undeniable. Valyn wondered how in the world that had ever come to be.  
Bella and Rodolphus. Bella was crazy, in the most enjoyable way, and very... Screachy. Passionate, decisive, harsh. Rodolphus was kind and comforting most of the time, but he had a streak... A streak of... Death Eater, Valyn supposed was the easiest way to put it. Valyn could see easily how that had happened.  
Andy and a Hufflepuff named Ted Tonks. She hadn't interacted with any Hufflepuffs, but weren't they the kind, loyal, fair ones? Andy seemed playful, dangerous, adventurous...  
Cissa and Lucius. They were the cutest- Lucius was saucy and righteous, charming and good, kind and reassuring. Cissa was cute and sweet, like honey and milk. Together, they just... Fit. They clicked, sparks were visible, all of the cliches.  
Carlisle and Jo, Grey and Demeter. Valyn hadn't conversed much with them, but the two pairs seemed quite similar, and they were cute to look at. Neither couple could bear to not have physical contact with the other for very long, though were professional enough in class; they weren't the type to makeout in between them, either. Rabastan liked a ravenclaw named Saiorse... And Valyn didn't care.  
And Valyn... Liked Sirius? No, she couldn't put it that way. She was hot for him? Well, sure. But it was more than that-  
"Like I was saying, though," Evan said with a grin, moving arm from the back of the couch to Valyn's shoulders. "I could be a really good cure for Sirius-itis," he offered. For all the playfulness in his voice, his eyes looked genuine.  
He had short blond hair, slicked back at a curve. He had one small gold hoop in his right ear, a small diamond at the top of the other. He had pretty, fair skin and a handsome square face, masculine and actually a bit dreamy. He had brilliant glittering blue eyes...  
 _You'll be a wretched mother and a wretched wife to a boring, brainless git._ Sirius' voice rang hatefully in her mind, and Valyn cleared her throat, looking away. It was stupid, Valyn knew, to take his words to heart. What would Sirius do if she started dating-  
No. She wouldn't go with someone just to spite him. He wasn't worth the effort and no one deserbed that, and she wasn't ready to sink that low.  
Valyn smiled at Evan but said nothing, but he seemed to get the message. He shrugged and sank back, no worse for the wear. Andy snickered in a mocking tone, and he gave her a once over.  
"You're just jealous Rosier never hit on you like that," teased Andy, who snorted in denial.  
"It's almost six," Cissa said, suddenly above Valyn's head.  
"Should probably get going then," Evan said with a sigh before helping Valyn stand. Graciously, Valyn accepted his assistance.  
They all walked together down to the Great Hall, but in little mini groups. Lucius, Cissa, Bella, and Rodolphus; Crabbe, Goyle, Joe, and Demeter; Valyn, Evan, Reg, and Andy. Not far behind them, Snape walked with Avery, Rabastan, and Mulciber.  
"Does Severus like anyone?" Valyn asked curiously.  
"Why, think he's cute?" asked Andy with disgust. Valyn made a face.  
"Not particularly, just seems nice enough,"  
Evan laughed. "Snape's cool. He used to like Lily Evans, but last year during O.W.L.s, Potter and Black were bullying him and when she tried to defend him, he called her a mudblood and now, they don't talk. I reckon he's still into her, though. She's bloody gorgeous, and they grew up together, I think, in Cokesworth."  
Valyn looked behind her at Snape, who noticed and nodded politely. She offered a smile, then turned around again. "And the other two? Avery and Mulciber?"  
Regulus sneered in disgust. "No. They're both a pair of Death Eaters, worse than Roddie's worst. They're not concerned with girls, just hate."  
Valyn frowned at Regulus. "I still don't understand this whole Death Eaters thing,"  
"Okay, well." Evan said. "Voldemort's a bad guy with a good goal and a bad way to get to it."  
Andy's head whipped around. "Good goal?"  
"Yeah. Purebloods need to preserve being pure, muggles need to preserve being non-magic."  
"Evan-" Andy started.  
"We're not talking about this," Regulus announced, and both parties dropped it.  
Valyn walked on, still confused. For the entirety of breakfast, they talked about who liked who in which House.  
Afterwards, however, Andy and Evan were bickering, something that seemed to be normal, so Regulus led Valyn out of the Great Hall alone.  
"So," a familiar voice boomed purposefully loud on their way out of the castle. "Valyn's taken to hanging out with Sirius' look-alike," the two Slytherins turned to see James looking at them, his Marauders behind them. Valyn scowled at him, and Sirius sneered in response. Peter was avoiding looking their way, and so Valyn did an about face and marched up to the four, Regulus following reluctantly.  
"Hello," she said brightly. "I'd appreciate it if you talked about me at a level where not everyone in Scotland can hear your insufferable voice," she gave him a sickly sweet smile.  
James crossed his arms, looking her up and down. Sirius shifted and Valyn forced herself to startle, causing the five males around her to look at her.  
"Sorry, I was afraid he was gonna kiss me again," Valyn crossed her arms. "Seems to want to most right after he's been as gittish as possible,"  
Sirius gave her a disdainful once over. "I haven't said anything to you."  
Valyn looked at James. "No, but it seems the two of you are pretty volatile,"  
Remus gave a little chuckle from the left of James, who was to the left of Sirius, who was to the left of Peter.  
"How are you, Peter?" she asked, before remembering that he was Regulus' lucky lad.  
"I..." Peter physically turned away, and Sirius frowned in a concerned manner before looking at Valyn again.  
"What do you want, Valyn?"  
"To know why James made that comment,"  
"Mind your business," scoffed James, and Valyn glared at him.  
"If it's about me, it is my business, at least after you announce it loud enough for me to here." Valyn crossed her thin arms.  
"Nice cloak," Sirius said sarcastically, and she glared at him before slipping it off. "Nicer body," he added sleazily, and she nearly hissed at him.  
"I hate you," she snapped. He raised his brows.  
"I hadn't noticed."  
She looked him over, then James. "You'd think after i betrayed my friend to help James save your life, you'd all be a bit more grateful to me." Sirius laughed without humor, grinned hatefully and looking up. "You might have died without me!" exclaimed Valyn, and he stopped, looking down at her.  
"Thanks, babe," he said dryly, insincerely. Valyn slapped him across the face, and Sirius actually gasped in surprise before grabbing her arm and shoving it behind her back, twisting it painfully. Regulus cleared his throat as Sirius' vice-like grip held her arm there. He was closer to her now, glaring down at her, a red spot already on his beautiful cheek.  
"Let her go, Sirius," Regulus said quietly.  
"She hit me," he roared, and twisted more. Valyn kept the whimpers in and glowered at him with as much hate as she could muster- which was a lot.  
"She's a girl," Regulus reminded him, and Valyn tensed.  
"So?" both Valyn and Sirius said. Their eyes locked, and the sheer anger in Sirius' eyes would have made her shiver, if she hadn't noticed that there was not an ounce of hatred. He released her and she rubbed her shoulder.  
Valyn looked at James then, who was watching. She pointed with her right hand, the hand she'd hit Sirius with, and felt a tear-worthy agony run through it, but she did her best to shrug it off.  
"Keep my name out of your mouth unless it's got something nice coming after it," she hissed, then spun again and stalked away, adding "Good day, Remus," before she was too far.  
"And to you as well," the acne-ridden boy added with much humor in his voice.  
Regulus followed her out, a small smile on his face. "Not many people stand up to Sirius Black to his face,"  
"Peter wouldn't even look at you," Valyn said as they left the castle, and Regulus sighed. Thye were silent until he led her to the only part of the black lake that was uninhabited.  
"Scoop a handful of water from the lake and try not to let it slip through," Regulus instructed and took out his wand. A confused Valyn obeyed.  
"The Black Lake was Rowena Ravenclaw's gift the Hogwarts, and it has special abilities compared to other water," Regulus pulled silvery strand from his head and dropped them into the water in Valyn's hands, and Regulus put both of their noses into it.  
They were somewhere else then. Peter was sitting alone not too far from where they were now, perhaps twelve or thirteen. He was a bit thinner than he was now, though still heavy. His hair was longer and wavy, and he looked much more introverted. He was watching Sirius and James swim in the Lake while Remus was asleep in the grass.  
Regulus was approaching them from their rights, and called out.  
"Sirius! Mother-"  
"I don't care, Reg," Sirius responded, jumping on James' back.  
"But she-"  
"Just go away!"  
Regulus had longer hair, hanging down past his ears, and Sirius' hair was shorter, about the same as twelve-year-old Regulus. The younger brother moved away and spotted Peter, before moving to him with a curious glint in his eyes.  
Valyn looked at the older Regulus, who was watching the scene as well. For the most part, young Regulus was the same as her own Regulus. Twelve-year old Reg sat next to Peter, who stared at him like he had several heads. Neither of the other conscious Marauders noticed.  
"I'm Black, Regulus Black," he announced, offering a hand.  
"P-pet-peter P-pettigrew," young Peter said. Regulus looked him up and down and smiled brightly.  
The memory shifted a great amount then, and Valyn realized that they were now in a different one. A thirteen year old Regulus with very short hair was dangling by his ankle in the air, Sirius with his wand pointed at him.  
"I'm your brother!" exclaimed Regulus incredulously, but Sirius snarled.  
"P-padfoot," a fourteen year old Peter said quietly, hair long and in his eyes.  
"Want a turn, Wormy?' Sirius asked brightly, grinning at his mate.  
But Wormy looked down, face covered in some indescribable emotion not unlike the one he'd worn in front of Valyn earlier. "I, u-uh... Maybe you sh-should put him-him do-down," Peter suggested. Sirius blinked at him, then frowned.  
"You okay, mate?" Sirius asked as he let Regulus drop.  
And then, Valyn and older Regulus were somewhere else; a dilapidated building half in ruins. Peter was behind a broken brick wall, hiding and panting. He was maybe fifteen or sixteen; the memory must have been from within the last year. Valyn could see behind the wall the other Marauders as well as several others fighting people in black cloaks, most of which with skeletal masks. One of them ducked behind the same wall Peter sat behind, wand pointed.  
"Avada-" The masked man began, then stopped. Peter was shaking, eyes squeezed shut, until the figure stopped.  
Peter looked up, and the figure moved his mask off. Regulus was behind it, and Valyn inhaled sharply. Her real Regulus was examining her, but Valyn watched on; Regulus sat down beside Peter.  
"You didn't kill me," he whispered in surprise. Regulus looked over at him, watching him, emotions flying through his eyes. Peter met his eye. "Wh-why?"  
Regulus got a slow, sad smile, then pressed his lips against the blond's.  
The memory changed again then. They were in a big No-Maj apartment, on a couch. It must be the summer before the school year they were in now. A woman who looked like a big, ugly, albeit friendly rat was smiling at them.  
"You know, Petey, your friend looks like that boy with the motorbike!" she announced, pulling her coat on. "Anyway, my ickle little sweetums," Memory Regulus surpressed a smirk. "Have fun! I've gotta go out to meet with your daddy- maybe he'll take mummy back again! Don't you miss him?- but I'll be back in a few hours!" And then, she was out the door.  
Regulus and Peter sat on the couch silently for a moment. "Your mother seems lovely," Regulus said in an innocent voice.  
"Just as lovely as yours," Peter responded sarcastically. "In a different way, mind."  
Regulus gave a soft laugh, then looked at the blond with love in his eyes. "I love you, ickle sweetums Petey,"  
"And I you, perfect, manly, heir o' mine,"  
The boys grinned at each other, and Regulus kissed Peter hard.  
The boys' kiss deepened, and if there was a 'girl' in the situation, it was Peter. Soon, Regulus was on top of the blond, holding him, stroking his hair. It was still escalating by the time the memory changed, and Valyn grimly realized the switching was making her head hurt.  
The last memory was Regulus sweeping through the dungeons, urgency in his eyes. Soon, he met up with Peter, who stared at him with big eyes. It must have been the fight from last night, after Reg had put Valyn in the common room.  
"If we get caught-" Regulus started, but Peter waved him off.  
"Are you a Death Eater?" Peter demanded.  
"I've shown you, I don't have-"  
"Rodolphus doesn't have the Mark, either," Peter pointed out. Regulus looked into Peter's eyes for a long moment.  
"Yes." He admitted softly.  
"A full-fledged Death Eater?"  
"Yes, but-"  
Peter shook his head, eyes squeezing shut. "We're done."  
"Pete, please-"  
"No!" Peter roared, eyes opening, tears rushing out, "No, no, no!"  
The blond rushed away, and Regulus didn't chase. "... I'll explain it to you, Pete, if you'll only listen," Regulus said sardonically before the memory disappeared, and Valyn was back in the real world.


	12. Lots of Blood (SnoggingViolence)

Valyn looked at Regulus until he spoke. "It was Mother and Father," Regulus explained. "They told Bella to sign me up to be a Death Eater, and she did. You can't just go 'oh, whoops, I changed my mind!' to the Dark Lord or to Bella." Regulus hugged himself. "And that's how me and Peter... I was already a Death Eater when we started..." Regulus sighed. His elegance, poise, suaveness... It was gone.  
"I'm sure you and Peter will be fine," Valyn said reassuringly, and Regulus gave a grim smile.  
"I need to talk to him. He has to allow me to explain. I've been risking my life for him, and he won't let me explain." Regulus cleared his throat then, and recomposed himself, before looking behind Valyn.  
"You've got company," Regulus said after a moment. Valyn turned and groaned audibly.  
It was, of course, Sirius Black. His head was down, hair covering his face. He was in the shade of several trees from the Forbidden Forest.  
He'd lost his cloak and wore white swimming trunks and a black tank top and grey flip flops. He looked rather odd, to Valyn.  
"I'll leave you two," Regulus said, and Valyn glared as he hightailed away.  
"How's your face?" Valyn called to Sirius mockingly. He looked up, and a bruise was already forming. Valyn felt an odd mix of regret, anger, and satisfaction.  
"Devastatingly handsome, as always."  
"If I wanted to kill myself, I would jump from your ego to your IQ."  
"I wasn't born with enough middle fingers to properly express how I feel about you, darling."  
Valyn sneered. "I'd like to see things the way you do, but i can't seem to get my head that far up my ass."  
Sirius laughed. "What was that? I was trying to imagine you with but an ounce of personality, but I simply can't manage."  
"Maybe because your IQ is lower than your shoe size." Valyn crossed her arms as Sirius finally stood before her.  
"Please, I bet you stare at juice boxes because they say 'concentrate'," At that, Valyn forced her face not to smile, despite the grin Sirius wore.  
"Are your parents siblings?"  
"Cousins, actually."  
"Explains a lot," Valyn hissed, and Sirius grinned wider.  
"You're so dense, light bends around you,"  
Valyn couldn't stop the little sputtered laugh that came out, and Sirius let out a triumphant sneer. "I'm bloody irresistable," he declared, but Valyn crossed her arms, becoming solemn once more.  
"You're a bloody idiot."  
"Americans shouldn't say 'bloody', it sounds atrocious."  
Valyn curled up her lip and gave a sardonic scowl.  
"That is unbefitting of your face, Valyn," Sirius said patronizingly.  
"So's that bruise, I _reckon,"_ Valyn said in a sobby tone.  
"Oi, stop," Sirius said, then smirked down at her.  
Valyn looked up at him for a long minute, and what she saw confused her. There was amusement, adoration, appreciation, adulation, admiration... And love. Very strong, obvious, giddy love.  
After the minute, however, she grabbed his head and pulled him down, kissing him.  
He responded as if he'd expected it, grounding his feet, and slipping his arms around her. Their eyes closed at the same time and he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, nibbling gently and pulling her into him.  
One hand pulled her skirt up, resting on the smooth, round shape of her butt, holding most of one cheek in a large, hot hand. Valyn groaned girlishly as he squeezed, and he groaned into her mouth as she returned the favor to his cute, boyish bum. That's what they called it here, right? A bum?  
Sirius leaned against Valyn until she fell back, walking backwards, and he walked her like that until her back rested against a tree. They were far enough away from the castle that no one would know what they were doing... Unless they were doing the same thing.  
Sirius lifted her up off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively so as to have a grip to keep her in place. Valyn tangled her fingers in his hair and he growled a warning, but she ignored it and marvelled inwardly about it; it was so soft, and thin... Sirius pushed her skirt up to her wiast and teased the band of her panties, and Valyn was quickly losing coherent thought as his finger inched closer and closer to the nether parts that no one, including herself, had ever touched.  
She stroked the place she'd hit him earlier gently, one hand holding him by the hair, holding his head close to her so he could drink from her like a well. She ground her hips into whatever part of him they were touching, and he groaned his approval before yanking her shirt up over her head, then resealing his mouth to hers. She was panting, so he let her breathe by kissing down her jaw to her neck, raising her up so he could easily suck and kiss and bite her collarbone, and she moaned happily at the surge of pain that tickled her throat. One of his hands slipped behind her back to protect her from the harsh pattern of the bark, and the other moved to trace patterns of it's own on her side, making her squirm slightly, and buck against him even harder.  
"More," Valyn sputtered when she couldn't take it anymore; her lips were falling off, her girl bits were melting, and her body radiated more heat than the depths of hell. Her thighs twitched occasionally, tired of being spread so wide for so long. He scooped her into his arms bridal style and carried her into the forrest, and Valyn was too far gone to think of the shirt or the cloak she was abandoning.  
Sirius lay her down after a few yards, on a patch of soft grass where the lake was still very visible. He muttered something about being outside of centaur territory before kneeling between her legs. She spread them and Sirius smiled down at her, a bright smile, and removed his own shirt. She gave a noise of approval as his smooth abdomen came into view, and he covered her with his body. She traced his entire upper body as he remelded their mouths, and soon Valyn didn't know where she ended and Sirius began.  
Soon she was moaning and purring beneath him, and he moved his thigh until she was clutching it between her own, and grinded it against in a way that made her back arch as pleasure exploded through her like a starburst, her mouth tearing away from her as she sucked in breath, eyes squeezing shut at the wonderful, new, almost painful sensation coursing through her like a drug, like a disease.  
"Sirius," she gasped seven times. "My Sirius,"  
He nodded against her face. "Yours,"  
"Mine," she cooed desperately and he nodded, burrying his mouth against her throat and she ground herself into his muscular thigh.  
Sirius sucked the skin of her throat into his mouth, running his tongue along it, and it hurt. She whimpered but held his head still, jellyfish swimming in her vision.  
"Take me," she begged sometime later, not sure how else to phrase it. "Take me right here,"  
Sirius pulled his head up and looked down at her with heavy eyes, staring at her face. He was searching, though for what she wasn't sure.  
But he must not have liked whatever he found, because he pushed himself up onto his hands. "Valyn," he said, voice hoarse, like gravel spilling from his beautiful, swollen lips.  
"I want-"  
"No," He said, and Valyn looked at him, into his eyes, for a very long time.  
Hurt was blossoming in her chest. _He sleeps around, I think.  
No cousin of mine will be just another of Sirius Black's slags.  
He sleeps around, I think.  
He sleeps around._ Just not with Valyn.  
Anger surged in her heart and she shoved him hard, something he was not expecting, and he was flung back. She was on her feet like lightening and quickly out of his reach.  
"Valyn-" he began, but she went to slap him. He grabbed her wrist in his vice grip, and she let out a noise of rage.  
"Let go of-"  
"Valyn, listen-"  
"No!" She tried to wrench her arm free but only hurt herself, twisting it. She continued until her wrist popped, when Sirius let go of her so that she didn't break her own wrist. She was quick, agile, and out of his way before he could grab her. She dashed to where her shirt and cloak where, while he followed, trying to convince her to stop.  
"Goddamnit, woman!" he roared as she yanked her shirt on easily, flying away from him like a cornish pixie. She grabbed her cloak and ran all-out, emotions, mind and body still burning. She ran until someone grabbed her and she spun to look up at Rodolphus. Her lungs were burning now, too.  
"Valyn?" She looked up at him. "Are you-"  
"Centaurs," she lied, taking the momentum from her run and pushing it into her lie. "I saw them, a-and they saw me, so I r-ran-"  
"Filthy half-breeds," Rodolphus growled, and he turned, looping his elbow with hers like a proper gentleman. "Let me assist you inside. You must be thoroughly shaken up. It's a good thing you left when you did, Merlin only knows what they would've done to a pretty young lady such as yourself." Valyn saw Sirius heading towards them in the distance and looked away. Her head found Rodolphus' shoulder and he smiled down at her.  
"Do you know where Bella is?" Valyn asked absentmindedly.  
"She's-"  
"Valyn!" Sirius yelled. Everyone outside and near the Lake looked his way. "Valyn whatever-your-middle-name-is Malfoy!" Rodolphus narrowed his eyes and tensed.  
Valyn continued walking, and Rodolphus- still linked to Valyn by the arm- came with. She went as fast as she could, but Sirius ran up in front of her before she could enter the castle.  
"Move, blood traitor," Rodolphus hissed.  
"What'd you tell him you were doing?" snapped Sirius, actually fury in his eyes. Valyn clung to Rodolphus, dread swallowing her heart, chilling it. "Picking daisies? Petting thestrals?"  
Rodolphus glared at Sirius, but Valyn could tell he'd stopped believing her story. He wasn't stupid.  
"Valyn?" It was Andy's voice behind her, but Valyn couldn't remove her eyes from Sirius'. Not five minutes ago she was a moaning, writhing mess for him, and now she was too afraid of him to break eye contact. Andy popped up beside her.  
"What's-"  
"Valyn kissed me," snapped Sirius. The blonde winced. "Again. She told me to take her, like an animal, right on the ground of the-"  
"I didn't say-" snapped Valyn, her face burning bright red. How could he even! That was so, so indecent!  
"Don't lie, little snake, it isn't befitting of a lady," Sirius took a step closer and Rodolphus surged forward, but Valyn clung to his arm.  
"I said take me, I didn't say those- those dirty-"  
"You didn't need to," he sneered hatefully, and Valyn felt tears forming in her eyes.  
"You didn't want to, anyway!" she said shrilly. It only made her worse, but she couldn't do this. Andy was looking between the two rapidly, and Rodolphus looked half a second from removing Sirius' head.  
But suddenly, Sirius was flying to the right, and Valyn jumped, letting a little gasp come out. The force urged a tear or two from each eye.  
Evan was behind Sirius, and apparently, he'd hit him. Sirius was on the ground and kicked out so that Evan's knees hit the ground hard, and he cried out and Sirius returned the head blow.  
Evan recovered fast, though, jamming his fist into Sirius' jaw. Sirius kicked Evan right in the chest, and Evan flew back. Sirius rose up and spat blood at Evan.  
"Get up," snapped Sirius. Evan did, and readied his fists. "Your hit," Sirius said, spreading his arms. Evan went at him just as Valyn flung herself in front of Sirius. Evan was too close to pull away, but he cursed loudly right before his fist sunk into Valyn's nose.  
She squealed and Sirius immediately wrapped both arms around her. Blood gushed from her nose and pain seared through her face; her eyes immediately began watering. She grabbed Sirius' forearms and dug her nails in.  
"O-ow," she gasped, then fell back. Sirius caught her, holding her. She couldn't breathe, and she couldn't think; only pain existed as she sagged down, clutching to Sirius' arms, her fingernails like daggers in his skin. Blood was filling her mouth; it was coming out her ears, her eyes. Her nose was full to the capacity with blood, even as it gushed freely.  
Valyn briefly heard a 'you fucking shitcunt,' before Sirius lifted her, unsure how to carry her, and walked her quickly into the castle. Movement jerked through her and she started weeping, making little noises as she tried to breathe without inhaling blood.  
"Hurts," she whimpered pitiously.  
"I know, baby," it was Sirius' voice, and someone else scoffed. Valyn was sat on her butt on a bed as Pomfrey came to work on her. She weeped openly and nearly fainted when she finally reopenedher eyes to see herself and Sirius covered in blood. She did faint, however, when Pomfrey used her wand to snap her nose back into place.


	13. The Catalyst's Chaos

Valyn woke up to see Sirius asleep next to her on her right, and Evan, Regulus and Andy asleep to her left. She gave a smile before wincing; why did it hurt to-  
Memories of earlier flooded into her. Evan punching her in the face. What the fuck had she been thinking? He couldn't just stop his fist that fast.  
Why had he hit Sirius? Why had Sirius hit him? Why had Rodolphus just watched?  
Why was there something on her face? Why couldn't she wiggle her nose? Why were her eyes drooping...?  
She reawakened sometime later to find only two people by her bed; Sirius still to the right, and Dumbledore to her left. She looked at him and groaned eloquently.  
He laughed quietly. "You're very much a catalyst, Valyn," Dumbledore said with his weird, old man smile. Valyn sat up and her head throbbed, making her groan again. Dumbledore handed her water, and as she drank, Valyn studied Sirius. He was in a chair, curled halfway into a ball, his left cheek- the one wearing her now ugly bruise- was on the back of the chair.  
"I have a lot of questions I'm supposed to ask you, Valyn, as Headmaster."  
"I'm not telling you anything about how I found Sirius," Valyn said, and her voice sounded odd, nasally.  
"... I think I can overlook that," he whispered quietly. "If you stop causing chaos in my school."  
Valyn started to chuckle, but whimpered, eyes tearing up. She drank more water, finishing the glass. When she set it down, it filled up again, and she downed that one, too.  
"There was... So much blood," she managed, then shuddered.  
"I've had a broken nose twice, but neither time did I suffer from blood leaking from my eyes, ears, and mouth," Dumbledore said, almost amused. She still tasted the metallic tang, though she hadn't realised it at the time.  
She breathed in heavily despite the pain, and exhaled through her mouth. "Did your voice change?"  
"No, but it sounds as if yours has, hopefully temporarily,"  
Valyn whimpered and looked over at Sirius. They needed to talk- once, and never again.  
"What happened, Ms. Malfoy?"  
Valyn frowned, then looked at her lap. "I... I."  
Dumbledore raised his brow, waiting patiently. "Start from the beginning, please,"  
Valyn laughed. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by beginning," she said.  
"I wouldn't mind hearing everything, if you'd like to share," Dumbledore offered quietly. Valyn leaned against her pillows.  
"I was walking in the Hogwarts Express, on the right side because I'm not used to this wonky place, with everything backwards, and Sirius Black ran into me. He was a dick, but James and Peter were nice, and Remus seemed well enough. Bella and Andy and Cissa came up and I recognized Cissa and they seemed nice, and Sirius was an ass. I followed the girls to their compartment and everyone was nice to me. I met you, then got Sorted into Slytherin- that was nice. Sirius was right in my line of vision, and- he was so cute, having fun with his friends. Andy told me about everyone, all the prefects, notable Gryffindors, who her friend group was- our friend group, cause i guess they've taken a liking to me, but now- anyway. The Marauders were walking with me after dinner because Andy told me i need to explore. Sirius was a giant dick, but the others were fun. They went into their dorms, and I heard the password- dead jumper. Very morbid. Anyway, I snuck in after them. I ran up the boys' steps- there were girls on the other staircase, I remember, and just... Knew where he was, I guess. They all had lovely photographs, except Sirius and Remus, but they had the most gorgeous drawings, and I think they were Sirius' but of course, how could I know? Then again, how could I have picked the right door? But then Sirius came out of the shower. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I hid behind the bed and prayed. I looked away when he changed, of course, but he looked so... Different from the sardonic Sirius who spoke to me. I liked him, or I thought I did, and he saw me and we talked and I kissed him and we kissed for a while, before James came in. Sirius gave me something and it was close to curfew so I just... I ran, and when I got to the common room, Bella came in, too, covered in goop. The thing Sirius gave me exploded and then Bella was plastered with feathers. I helped wash them off... And they told me about Voldemort, and Death Eaters, and... Then we went to bed. We saw the Marauders before breakfast and I duelled them- you saw- and my friends warned me I couldn't get back at them because everyone favors them. We ate, went to potions. Sirius and I said stuff to each other- rude stuff, and I talked about my dad and cried. He's so... Bipolar. He'll be nice, and cute, and the boy I saw with his friends and from the shower, but then he'll be the douche I bumped into on the train again. After class, I looked for one of the places in the drawings, because it was beautiful, and I found it, and I sat there until dinner. It was nice, and Attor was with me." As if on cue, the dragon flew in and landed on her foot. She assumed he liked exploring the castle. "Then I went in for dinner and drew a shitty picture of the place and magiced it to have a song I shared with my dad in it and sent it to Sirius, then went there, but I felt like running and I'd just given Andy my purse with my inhaler in it, so I fell unconscious I guess, and woke up in here. I was visited by my friends, but I fell back asleep, and then when I woke up, it was just Rodolphus. He said something about getting revenge for me and Bella, and I fell asleep, and when I woke up, James was there. Madam Pomfrey said I could leave and James wanted help finding Sirius and I remembered what Rodolphus had said so I took a unicorn/dragon blood potion and we found him and we got him here, but James sent me to get their friends, so I did, and then Lucius made me go to bed. Nothing really happened until yesterday, and the Marauders took me to a room and they talked to me, but they were gits and Sirius kissed me, so I left. I went to the dungeons and Reg told me... Told me about his and Sirius' childhood, and what happened after they both went to Hogwarts. So I told him about... My dad. I kind of passed out, maybe because I'm a giant wuss, but. Regulus told me about his- his relationship problems, this morning and we went for a walk. On the way there, I argued with the Marauders- James was a dick, and so I took it out on him and Sirius- and I ended up hitting Sirius. He got a bruise and twisted my arm, but we were okay. Anyway, after Regulus had finished his story, Sirius came up and we argued again, but playfully, and I... I kissed him again. We, uh. It escalated, and then we were in the woods, and he was on top of me, and I... Wanted more. I-I've never done anything with a guy before, not even kissed, so I don't know where that- but. He said no, and I got mad, and he tried talking to me, but I ran away. I'm really fast, and my asthma had calmed down after whatever Madam Pomfrey did, so I got away, and me and Rodolphus were walking when he yelled at me and... And said a lot of gross things. Then Andy was next to me, and then Sirius was on the ground, and he was fighting Sirius, and he went to hit him and I moved forward to stop them but he hit me in the nose- that stopped them- and then... I was here."  
Dumbledore was listening, a small, thoughtful smile on his face. "... I see," was all he said, the gears of his mind still turning.  
"What is a Death Eater? Who is Voldemort? Why are purebloods supposedly better than non-purebloods?" Valyn asked, not expecting an answer. "People have told me all these answers before, but it doesn't make sense to me. It's not my argument; this isn't my world." Valyn ran a hand through her messy hair. "I don't understand."  
"I'm not entirely sure what to tell you, Valyn," Dumbledore sat back. "There isn't much I can do to anyone yet, for anything, other than you, Mr. Rosier, and Sirius. I'm not even sure who to punish for that."  
Valyn said nothing. Repurcussions... There were always repurcussions. Valyn wasn't the type of person who disliked the ones she earned, before.  
She hadn't had any friends at Ilvermorny. Everyone had known that she was the daughter of a disowned pureblood, once esteemed, and the heiress of Salazaar Slytherin. William, one of the Pukwudgies that lived at the school, had seemed fond of her, but that was it.  
When she wasn't studying or in class, she was either sewing, shopping, visiting home, or exploring. Ilvermorny, like Hogwarts, had been surrounded by forrest, and Valyn had become expert at fighting unfriendly Pukwudgies and Hide Behinds. However, her favorite place to be was Slytherin's tree in fron of the school; she danced around it and could swear it were as if someone else had been dancing with her. Rumor had it that Isolt Sayre, heiress of Salazaar Slytherin and Valyn's maternal ancestor, had buried Slytherin's wand here, which had then grown into the tree. She loved to brew potions from the medicinal leaves.  
She'd been known as a freak, an evil monster, something to be avoided, and that suited her fine. People hadn't interested her much, anyway.  
But, having no friends nor enemies, she hadn't gotten into any trouble other than the occasional late-for-curfew or wandering too far off school grounds. She wasn't truent nor insubordinate.  
And then, she'd come here. Everything was different, and she wasn't sure she liked it, but she was positive she didn't dislike it. Valyn closed her eyes as she sighed.  
"You seem to be punished enough," Dumbledore commented so quietly, Valyn had to thinka moment to process the words. She looked down at her hands. "Evan will get a detention for starting the fight, and you will get one the next time you're caught fighting, whether you start it or not."  
Valyn looked at Dumbledore, but he was looking across her. She turned to see Sirius watching her, quite awake. Her face flushed, but she only closed her eyes again.  
"Pomfrey will probably have your nose fixed up by the end of the day. You probably won't miss much class, but I'll have Horace send your cousin to retrieve what you do." And with that, Dumbledore was gone.  
Valyn debated wondering how long Sirius had been awake, but she couldn't bring herself to. It didn't really matter, after all. She was tired, and she didn't want to talk to him right now. Why was he there, anyway, beside her? Why had he called her baby, held her, slept over her? Did he want her or didn't he? Why did she even care? Valyn pulled the sheets up over her arms. She just wanted to wake up and be in her bed in Michigan, or her bed at Ilvermorny. She pictured her father's chartreuse eyes, his translucent skin, his chilly embrace that was more than comforting. She imagined him holding her, like he had when she was young and had had a nightmare, stroking the hair that identical to his own. She imagined waking up to see grumpy Pukwudgies picking up the dorm room she'd shared with four other girls; Marilyn Boot, Katelyn Chenning, Amanda Travertine, and Fiona Gregories.  
Sirius touched her hand. "Why did you like the drawing of the spot?" His voice was quiet, tired, and a bit odd. He was hurt, but no one had treated him, she knew. Evan hit hard; he probably needed attention, if only a little bit.  
But Valyn couldn't open her mouth, as much force as she used; her muscles wouldn't respond. She couldn't even care that she couldn't move. She managed to open her eyes, however, when Sirius kissed her temple.  
Words burned her throat and she stared at him eloquently. She didn't know what words she was conveying to him, but felt their meanings seep through her eyes, and somehow, he seemed to be listening.


	14. The Nightmare Prophecy

Pomfrey released her right at curfew on Monday, but insisted she keep the nose brace on it. Healing nasal fractures was difficult work, the nurse witch had told her, and since Valyn had said her change in voice was absolutely unacceptable, it had been even trickier. Slughorn had dropped off her work while she'd been sleeping this morning, and Sirius was there to escort her away. Valyn decided not to determine how she felt about that, but couldn't ignore the sting of pain caused by the fact that none of her friends- not even Lucius, her family, or Regulus or Andy, who she thought were _really_ her friends, had come.  
They walked slowly, and as soon as they were out of sight of Pomfrey, who'd watched them walk away, Valyn began to weep without even an internal warning.  
Sirius grabbed her immediately and she tried to lean against him without agitating her nose, but couldn't. Sirius saw and dropped to his knees before her, and she sagged, her jaw on his shoulder. She wept for hours, it felt, but she knew if the timeframe were accurate, a prefect would've stumbled upon them.  
Sirius didn't speak or comfort her anyway but holding her, and she grew angry near the end of her sobs she pulled back and beat him, but not in a tough, threatening way- the way she'd been taught by her father, with pride and strength to rival a man's, the kind she needed because she insisted on sneaking out to walk the streets of Detroit and some of the areas weren't very safe for a pretty white girl at night- but in a pathetic, emotional, brainless way, primal and weak, just like she. Sirius let her for a while, but she collapsed onto her knees in front of him on his, and she snuggled him again.  
"I hate you," she gasped, and he nodded, though Valyn didn't know or see. "I hate you and Evan and my friends and your friends and Dumbledore and Hogwarts and Scotland and Europe and I hate everywhere that isn't my home! I hate your brother and Andy and I hate school and I hate fights and pain and kissing and touching and loving and I hate loving you!" She screamed nonsensically. He put a palm over her mouth and lifted her face to look at him. His brilliant dark eyes were filled with all of the emotions Valyn felt- good and bad- and she hated and loved him more for it.  
"I hate you, too, Valyn," he whispered insincerely. She was furious that she didn't believe him.  
She shook her head and plopped onto her bum. "I want to die," she whispered honestly. "Right here. Right now."  
Sirius looked at her, looking very un-Sirius. No, looking very much like her favorite Sirius.  
"I don't want you to die, ever," he whispered back. She laughed without humor and shrugged.  
"I want you to love me!" she gasped, feeling tears coming back.  
"I do," he laughed out quietly. "And I don't think you understand how terrible that is for me."  
She scooted close to him and leaned against him. She wondered what this was like to him. She was probably some weak little bipolar thing and he hated feeling affection for such a nasty little creature. She whimpered.  
"You're beautiful," he whispered to her as if he were reading her mind. He could be, for all she knew. "And you're perfect to me. Sirius Black is two different people to you, you said; the cute, nice boy with his friends, and... The other. Well, you're two different girls. You're strong, fierce, and intelligent, bright-eyed and silly. ANd then. you're like this, sad and angry and... Brainless," he laughed out. "I've known you for a week. I hated you, and I love you, and I don't understand."  
Valyn only laughed another dry, humorless laugh, and sagged into him. "And who are you now, and who am I?"  
"I'm the good Sirius now, and you're the bad Valyn," he said. She hugged herself, still leaning on his barrel of a chest.  
"I want to be the good Valyn for you," she whispered, barely audible. She wasn't sure he heard her.  
Sirius stood and lifted her up like a child, hands under her armpits. He picked her up and she clutched to him like she used to clutch to her father, legs around his waist, arms around his shoulders. He was much bigger than her father, around the waist, though the same height. The familiar embrace eased the bad Valyn away, but good Valyn was very much asleep, and the shell of a girl was left an empty, tired, thing, not little, not strong, just... Valyn.  
He carried her to the Slytherin entrance and she hopped down, unwilling to be seen clinging to Sirius Black like a child at midnight in front of Lucius, or Bella, or Rodolphus. Or Evan Rosier, for that matter.  
But she kissed him, hard on the lips, after pulling his face down to her own, and they kissed like that. Sirius was just Sirius, not good and not bad, and Valyn was just Valyn, completely neutral, and it was the nicest Valyn had ever felt, but not the best. The best came when they were both good; the nicest, when neutral; the worst, when they were both bad.  
And it ended quickly. Sirius was gone, and Valyn was just, there. She murmured the password and slinked inside.  
Rodolphus was the first one on her. He grabbed her head in both hands and looked at her, madness in his eyes. "You filthy blood traitor," he hissed, and she just blinked up at him. "You're a traitor to your blood and a traitor to your friends."  
"She's no cousin of mine!" Lucius roared from behind them, and Rodolphus shook her. "She's just one of Sirius Black's whores. He'll probably fit her in between Alice Fortescue and Marlene McKinnon. Maybe he'll like all three of them together."  
"She's nothing but a nothing!" Bella shreiked. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"  
"How could you, Valyn?" It was Evan this time. "You made me. You made hit Sirius, and you made me hit you. I was wrong about you."  
"You're hurting my brother," Regulus hissed. "You've hurt him, and you've hurt my friends."  
"No," Valyn whimpered. Rodolphus shook her again.  
"Yes!' They all screamed at once. Cissa was sneering in disgust, and Andy wasn't even looking at her. Severus was glaring distastefully, and Avery and Mulciber looked ready to rip her in two.  
"Did you really think we'd wait up for you?" Lucius advanced and suddenly, he took Rodolphus' place, though he didn't touch her. "You're not one of us. You never will be. You're not one of them, either, You'll never belong anywhere, and you never have. No matter how hard you'll try you'll always be nothing but a worthless, nameless slag who killed both of her parents and muddled everything in the life you pretended to be a apart of here."  
Valyn bolted up in bed, panting and sweating. She was in her bed in the Slytherin dorm, and her nose brace had fallen off. She was bleeding, but not bad. She looked around her and didn't know what was real and what was dream.  
"Valyn?" a sleepy Bella asked, and she looked over to see the dark haired girl frowning at her with concern.  
"What happened?" Valyn whimpered, and Bella stood and walked to the girl. Valyn hugged herself.  
"You're bleeding," Bella said quietly, and wiped Valyn's upper lip with her thumb. Valyn could not resist the urge to hug Bella around the middle. Bella slid into Valyn's bed and sat beside the girl. The blonde curled against the curly-head, clutching.  
"Sirius Black walked you down here," there was disapproval in her voice. "And Lucius helped you into bed. You fell asleep, and now we're here," Bella stroked her hair. "You really should leave him be. I heard Rosier's single, and you'd be so cute-"  
"I love him," Valyn whispered. "I know I shouldn't, but I do."  
Bella's face scrunched up, but the exhausted American couldn't read the emotion. "I can relate, there," she admitted quietly.  
Valyn lay down and looked up at Bella. After a moment, the Brit lay down on her side next to Valyn and draped an arm over her tummy. The younger girl looked up into her pretty eyes.  
"But Rodolphus-"  
"I don't love him," Bella said, and Valyn all but gaped at her.  
"But-"  
"We'll get married and produce an heir, as is expected of me. Roddie loves me, and he's sweet to me. We have common interests and we work well together, but..." Bellatrix put her mouth against Valyn's temple, and she was warm against the smaller girl. "I'm in love with Tom Riddle."  
Tom Riddle? Valyn didn't know any Tom Riddles. "Who?"  
"Lord Voldemort."  
Valyn looked up at Bella. Her eyes held desperation, but she was smiling. _Me, too.  
_ "I don't want to be a part of your war," Valyn said, and Bella nodded.  
"I know," said the older girl.  
"I want to be friends with you guys, and I want Sirius to love me, too."  
"I don't think you can have us and him, Val,"  
Valyn laughed a noise of sadness and closed her eyes. Bella held her and, after a few minutes when Valyn showed no sign of sleep, she kissed her temple. "Andy and Cissa have trouble getting to sleep sometimes, and i hold them like this and sing to them," Bella suggested brightly.  
"Sing to me, please, Bella," Valyn asked.  
"You are my sunshine,  
"My only sunshine.  
"You make me happy  
"When skies are grey.  
"You'll never know, dear,  
"How much I love you.  
"Please, don't take  
"My sunshine away.  
"The other night, dear,  
"While I lay sleeping,  
"I dreamt I held you in my arms.  
"When I awoke, dear,  
"I was mistaken,  
"So I hung my head and I cried."  
Valyn fell asleep, thinking about Bella's pretty, mediocre voice and how impossibly comforting she was. She'd be a good mother to her heir... A good mom...  
Valyn dreamt that she was in a big, beautiful bed, too big for her own tastes. She wore a silken dress, white and lacy, too sexy for the innocent color. The room was giant, the carpet light shag, the walls white and grand. There was a chiffarobe on each side of the bed, a desk on either side of the door across from her. The room was symmetrical and furnished with expensive things, nice things. Valyn sat up and the door opened.  
It was Evan, but he was older. He had a big, bright smile on his face that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Goodmorning, honey," He said in a sickly sweet voice. "Tea?"  
Valyn smiled and nodded, even though she didn't want to. He was her husband after all, she had to humor him into thinking she enjoyed his pointless Ministry talk.  
Evan walked to the bed to assist her to her feet, and they locked arms. Evan was such a gentleman...!  
They walked together through a giant, grandeur house.  
"The Ministry is doing well," Evan commented as he led her outside to a little patio outside. A long, vibrant green yard stretched before them with a lovely pavement driving, long and winding to the road. They sat in patio chairs and three little House Elves came out, one with tea, one with plates with a crepe and a fork on each, and one with a bottle of Brandy. The first two Elves set down their gifts and scurried away, and the third spiked Valyn's tea.  
"There was resistance to the new Minister at first, but our Lord and Master convinced them." Evan got a small grin.  
"How did he do that?" Valyn asked, smiling, sipping her tea. She knew, though; their Lord was simply the best.  
"Well, we've slaughtered all the mudbloods, and we've almost finished with the Muggles."  
Valyn laughed happily. "The Dark Lord is simply the best, purifying the world such as he has," she commented lightly.  
"Oh, yes indeed!" Mr. Rosier said brightly.  
"And yet..." Valyn said, then frowned into her cup. "Something troubles me. Something threatens our perfect world!"  
"Oh, honey, no!" Evan looked at his Mrs. Valyn Rosier. "The Dark Lord had accounted for everything!"  
"Then what of the filthy halfbloods! The repulsive halfbreeds!" Valyn asked her husband.  
"We'll turn on them when the Muggles are gone!" Evan exclaimed with a smile. "Honestly, honey, thinking doesn't do you well."  
"I'm a lady, of course it doesn't," Valyn shrugged as she spoke airily. "I have you, my husband, for a reason."  
"That you do, honey, that you do." Evan stroked her cheek.  
"Mummy! Daddy!" Two children were running up the drive then. The boy started to swerve towards the grass, and sheer panic bloomed in Valyn.  
"The grass, Belial, the grass!"  
The little toddler looked down and giggled. Soon, the children were at their parents, and the girl, older than the boy but still quite young, extended her arms, requesting to be held. "Oh, alright, Dru," he said, lifting the blonde girl into his lap. She clung to him.  
"Mummy mummy, guess what we found!" the young Belial said.  
"Belial found him, not me!" Druella shreiked. Evan patted her head.  
"What is it, darling?" Valyn asked Belial.  
"Sirius Black!" he said brightly.  
Suddenly a big, snarling black wolf appeared, and Evan laughed. "Now, now, Valyn, you didn't say that mutt was visiting!"  
Valyn leaned back in her chair, and the wolf growled.  
"Didn't you miss him, mummy?" Belial asked. Sirius- wolf Sirius- growled louder. "Didn't you love him?"  
Sirius couldn't be here. This was her world! Her and Evan's! They were the Rosiers...  
"I was right," the wolf Sirius growled. "And now you're worse than bad Valyn. You've come to be a sad, pathetic drunkard who's been awoken to the hardships of life and couldn't cope; a wretched mother and a wretched wife to a boring, brainless git. A filthy slag like you never could have been anything happier had you tried. You know that, right?"  
"Mummy's a slag!" Belial laughed. Evan was frowning at Valyn, agitated. He'd punish her later...  
"What are you doing here, Sirius?" Valyn asked, awash with pain. This was her life, her new life, her Sirius-free life.  
"On the run from Voldemort. He's killed Lily because she's muggleborn, and James killed himself. Remus is dead because he's a halfbreed. Peter's already joined them. It's just me now."  
"What do you want from me!" she yelped and downed the rest of her tea, which visibly angered her husband. She just wished it was pure brandy... Or something stronger.  
"I want to make you pay!" And then Sirius transformed into himself.  
"I didn't do anything!" she shreiked.  
"Exactly!" Sirius yelled back.  
"Just leave me alone, Sirius," Valyn wept.  
"No! You wanted this! You wanted me!" Sirius advanced on her, and her family and house melted away. They were somewhere else, a nursery, but there were bodies on the floor. Lily, James, Remus, Peter. Lily was just dead, but James' brains were shot out, quite graphically. Peter had a green snake and skull on his left wrist, and it had inflamed, and green and black twisted through his veins and shot out his eyes. Remus looked ripped to pieces by claws; another werewolf. Sirius held his arms out.  
"It's your fault, Valyn," Sirius looked near tears, and angry. Emotions surged through her, and she rubbed her hands on her jean-clad thighs, not realising she'd been wearing something else.  
"I didn't do anything," she repeated, her voice heavy with a sob she didn't let out; a sob she couldn't. Not if she wanted to stay relatively sane.  
"That's the problem!" Sirius said, almost wept, desperation filling his eyes. He grabbed Valyn's face, but softly, gently, and nudged her to look at him, but she started to cry softly, tried looking away. He eased her face to his own, though, and put his forehead on hers. "You could've stopped it. You could've joined me and made it all okay." His voice was getting quieter.  
"I-I... This isn't my fight, I-I'm not like you!"  
"Do you want us all to die?!" He screamed.  
"No, no, no, no!" Valyn shook her head.  
"Do you agree with the Death Eaters?" Sirius asked accusingly.  
"No! But I'm not like you. I don't fight, I-"  
"Ignore." Sirius finished, looking down. He released her and motioned towards the dead bodies. "Well, this is what happens when you ignore. Lily was pregnant, you know. James was so happy..."  
"No," Valyn whispered, shaking her head. Her head wasn't thinking, she was just... Doing.  
"Yes. Was gonna name him Harry. He was going to save the world, defeat Voldemort... Make everything okay. And you could've helped him live, but you ignored-"  
"No!" Valyn shrieked. Sirius grabbed her arm and yanked painfully, and Valyn wept more. He pushed up her sleeve and showed a Dark Mark, just Like Peter's.  
"Obviously."  
"What... What if i chose you?" she asked quietly.  
The scene changed. They were in the same room, but it brightened, and the bodies were gone. In a big, white cradle, was a pretty toddler no more than a year or two old. She was standing on her feet, reaching out.  
"Mama, dada," she gasped, eyes the same dull, piercing green as Regulus'. Her hair was stark white, like Valyn's, and her skin was the same pale, but her face was Sirius'. She was beautiful.  
"If you choose me, we'll have little Sovereign." He smiled at her, touching her cheek with his finger. She cooed at him.  
"Sovvie..." Valyn whispered, and suddenly, she felt strong. Smart. Wicked and witty. she grinned at Sirius, and he grinned back.  
Valyn bolted upright. It was bright, and Bella was still beside her, asleep. She touched her throat, gasping.


	15. Valyn's Bride Price

Valyn blinked wildly. What day was it? The fight had been on Sunday. Dumbledore's visit had been on Monday. She'd been released on Tuesday evening... Which meant that today was Wednesday. She'd met Sirius on a Monday, which meant that today was the tenth day of knowing Sirius Black. It felt like her life was split into three parts; her father, Malfoy Manor, and Hogwarts. They were all very, very different.  
What class did she have? She looked beside her to see a sleeping Bella, Attor beside her head. He'd slept between them, it seemed. She looked at her watch; 3:47. The girls all rose at four thirty, so she had just under an hour.  
It was... Divination, yes. She and Andy had it together. Valyn swung her feet over the bed and stood, getting dressed in Bella's borrowed robe. She didn't do anything to her hair, other than brush it, and she didn't do her makeup. She used a spell to clean her teeth and fled out of the Slytherin dungeons, Attor on her shoulder, praying she wouldn't get in trouble for rising so early.  
She didn't know where to go, one hand on her satchel, the other tucked into her wand belt. She could go to the Gryffindor common room, see if the password was still dead jumper, but she didn't think it would be. She walked outside, mind still half asleep, until her feet found their way to the tower nook.  
Sirius was sitting on the grass right where Valyn had. He was dressed and his eyes were closed, his too-long hair in his face. He didn't seem to hear Valyn, so she silently walked over and sat next to him.  
"Good morning," she said quietly. He responded by putting his head on her shoulder.  
"D'you want the drawing?" Sirius asked after a long moment of silence. She kissed the top of his head and hoped he didn't notice.  
"Do you want to give it to me?"  
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't, Val," his voice was hardly more than a breath. Valyn nodded.  
"I would love it," she said.  
He sat up and cracked his neck one way, then the other. Valyn leaned over until she was curled up in his lap, and his fingers found her hair.  
"I had a dream last night. About you." Valyn confessed after a long time. Attor was standing on her shoulder, staring at Sirius, deciding what he thought of the Gryffindor.  
"I did, too."  
Maybe it was the same. "What of?" she asked.  
"You show me yours, and I'll..." Sirius trailed off.  
"I asked first," the American pointed out. Sirius Black sighed.  
"You were married to Rosier, and you were a Death Eater. James, Remus and Lily were dead. I confronted you, and then we were somewhere else. Their bodies were there, and we were fighting. And then-"  
"Then we had a baby." Valyn finished. Sirius nodded solemnly. "Are you an Animagus?" she asked, letting the shared dream sink in.  
"I... Yes."  
"And Remus is a werewolf."  
"Yes."  
"Do you think it's really real? A prophecy of sorts?" Valyn turned to look up at him, and Attor fell onto her chest. Sirius looked into Valyn's eyes.  
"Peter would never become a Death Eater."  
No, but he would date one, Valyn thought. Best to leave that alone, though. "Maybe some things just mean other things. Prophecies aren't entirely straightforward."  
Sirius thought about this for a long time.  
"I don't want to choose between you and my friends," Valyn said after a long pause. He looked down at her. "It isn't my fault you all are apart of some big war."  
Sirius got a small smile, his lips twisting up a centimeter to one side.  
"I don't even see the point of it," She admitted, then tentatively moved her fingers through his silky hair. He let her.  
"Protection." Sirius said seriously. (SORRY)  
"From what?"  
"From... Them. They want to kill muggles and muggleborns, and we won't let them."  
"They said they're joining for revenge." Valyn said, and Sirius looked sharply at her. "They like the cause, but that's not what it's really about... They just want to fight you."  
Sirius closed his eyes. "Maybe that's why Regulus is neutral." he didn't seem to have made the comment for Valyn's sake.  
"I wonfer what would happen if you all just... Stopped," Valyn mused, looking up at the sky. It paled in comparison to Sirius' face- his bones were so beautiful, so elegant, and somehow so different from Bella's, Andy's, Cissa's, and Reg's, even though they were exactly the same- but the sky, by itself, was still quite pretty. "If no one fought for Voldemort, maybe he'd just be a man... Not a Lord."  
"He's not a man," Sirius said, and Valyn looked at him. "He's a monster. A snake monster." Valyn laughed, but Sirius' expression was as solemn as it could ever be.  
"You're joking," Valyn said, her laugh ending.  
"Am not. He's got arms and legs and all, but his skin is grey and sallow, his eyes red, and he hasn't got a nose. No hair, no ears, nothing. The size of a man, though,"

"D'you wanna go out with me?"  
Valyn looked at him, face sobering. He still had a grin on, playfulness gleaming in his dark eyes. "Go out with you, as in date?"  
"Yeah."  
Valyn sat up, and Sirius' face slowly grew less amused. She scooted close to him, their legs over lapping, until her face was mere inches from his. He looked down at her, his lips almost touched her small nose.  
"What do you want to be when you're older?"  
"I don't need a job, I've got enough money. Maybe I'd sell some art, though." Sirius put his forehead on Valyn's. "And you?"  
"I want to be a singer," Valyn said, with a bright smile. Sirius returned it.  
"Your voice is like Heaven," Sirius said in a low voice, and Valyn beamed at him.  
"You think?"  
"I love it."  
"Do you want to get married?" She asked next.  
"Of course," Sirius grinned. Valyn smiled. They were very close now.  
"How many children?"  
"Of mine? Zero, but shit happens." Valyn's brow twitched together.  
"You don't want kids?"  
"Not particularly, no. How many do you want?" He looked at her eyes, examining them, analyzing.  
"An heir and a spare," Valyn said. "A boy and a girl."  
Sirius frowned deeply. "That's why I don't want kids."  
"What?" Valyn sat up, petting Atto, who still clung to Sirius.  
"Children are people. Children are people to love, to cherish, to help and to be respected. You're talking about them like things- daughters aren't spares. Sons are more than things for one to invest their inheritences into."  
Valyn listened to Sirius. "I mean... It was a joke, Sirius," her voice was quiet, unsure, and Sirius sighed.  
"If you had kids, what would you want to name them?" Valyn continued after a moment.  
"Never thought about it," Sirius admitted.  
"Well, think!"  
"Hm... If he were a boy, and I had full reign, I'd name him Remus James Black. A girl could be Samantha Peyton Black."  
"Remus and James are self-explanitory... Peyton for Peter, right?" Sirius nodded. "And Samantha?"  
"Closest thing to Sirius that I like," the Gryffindor grinned.  
"If I had a son I'd name him Belial Asmodeus- my father, whom I love, and my grandfather, whom I hate. If I had a daughter, I'd name her Sovereign Alain."  
Sirius raised an elegant brow. "Explain."  
"I love my father and want to honor him. Asmodeus would be a reminder as to where he comes from, good and bad, and remind him to stay vigilant, to stay strong." Valyn curled her face onto Sirius' collarbone, her face beside Attor's. "Sovereign means ruler, it means a strong leader. I want my daughter to be strong. Alain is my middle name, and my mother's first name. My father said my mother was sweet, kind, playful and understanding, so my daughter would be all the good and neccesary things- strength, kindness, bravery, and playfulness."  
"I see," Sirius said after a moment.  
They sat for a little while, and Sirius wrapped his arms around the girl when she started to shiver. He was warm, and Valyn curled into him.  
"Yes," Valyn said, glancing at her watch, seeing that they really, really should be off to the Great Hall.  
"Pardon?" Sirius said, as if awoken from a daydream.  
"My answer is yes," Valyn smiled against his heat.  
"Your answer to..."  
"The question you asked earlier, dummy."  
"You're my girl, then?" Sirius perked up when he finally realized, and Valyn giggled at him.  
"I'm your girl."  
Sirius was on his feet in an instant, and had one of Valyn's hands in his. He spun her around and danced with her, and she laughed all the while. He really was lovely at it, after all, and a giant dork.  
He dipped her and leaned forward, and she grabbed his face gently.  
"If I fall, I will kill you," she giggled, and he grinned at her.  
"It's a Hogsmeade weekend. You have your permission slip?"  
"Of course," Valyn said, still laying in Sirius' arms.  
"Good." He stood her up and spun her once more, twisting her back into his arms, holding her. "We'll go together every time it's a Hogsmeade weekend."  
Valyn smiled up at him, feeling absolute adoration in her chest. He was the loveliest boy, and he did the silliest things... She didn't even have the time to properly react, to absorb her feelings. She pulled on his hand and led him into the castle, into the Great Hall.  
It was 5:54 when they arrived, and while most people were seated, he pushed her against the wall and pressed his lips to hers. His hands were on the wall on either side of her, and he stood a stride away from her, leaning down. They kissed over and over, little pecks, smiles on their faces, until someone cleared their throat beside them.  
Valyn turned to see a rather livid Lucius, his pale face colored nearly red. Her eyes lost their smile before her mouth found it appropriate to follow suit.  
"Luc-" she started, but he cut her off.  
"What are you doing, Valyn?" he snapped, then grabbed her by the forearm and yanked. He succeeded, the force bending her and slipping her under Sirius' arm. She was behind Lucius by the time Sirius straightened.  
"Listen-" Sirius said, face serious but not angry.  
"No, you listen," Lucius was seething. "You don't touch her from now on. You don't talk to her, you don't look at her ,you don't even think about her!" Lucius stepped forward, and Valyn did, too.  
"Lucius-"  
He turned around and smacked her clean across the face, and she howled. Sirius growled and readied his fists, but McGonagall was there in a second.  
"Mr. Malfoy!" She roared as loud as Lucius had. Everyone silented at her voice, though. Valyn was seeing stars, and her ears were pounding. He'd hit her hard... She'd had enough pain to last her lifetime, all from fights at Hogwarts.  
Someone was next to her, and she didn't know who. At first she went to push them away, but after they tried to coax her to them, she leaned forward and rested her head on their bosom; whomever it was, it was a girl. Maybe Andy? She had the largest chest of her friends.  
After a while, though, she could hear again. She opened her eyes to look up and see Lily Evans, and she pulled away quickly. She looked around; Bella was standing and she rushed away from Lily. The muggleborn's pretty eyes looked hurt, but Valyn couldn't mind that right then. Lucius had hit her!  
Bella hugged her tightly. "He h-hit me!" Valyn whimpered.  
"I told you to stay away from Sirius," Bella said in a quiet voice, like a mother chastising her child for touching the stovetop.  
Valyn pulled away. "Lucius hit me."  
"I know," Bella frowned the girl, as if wondering why she kept repeating that.  
"He physically hit me! On purpose!" Valyn was incredulous, a bit hysterical.  
"Should've stayed away from Sirius Black," Lucius growled at her. Slughorn and McGonagall were arguing, and Sirius was glaring at Lucius.  
"Why? Least he doesn't hit me!"  
Lucius sneered at her. "I told you. No cousin of mine will be added to his collection of trollops-"  
"She's not a trollop," Sirius hissed, stepping forward, McGonagall gave him a death stare, but he couldn't see her. He didn't go to hit Lucius, though. "She's my girlfriend."  
"Your girlfriend?" Narcissa laughed. "You've never dated anyone-"  
"I am now. What have you to say against it? I'm pureblooded. My family is more than eligable for yours, Malfoy."  
"Your family disowned you!" Bella shrieked.  
"Doesn't change blood, does it, dear cousin?" Sirius didn't look at her. "If Lily's mum disowned her, would she suddenly not be muggleborn?'  
Lucius glared, but said nothing. None of this made sense to Valyn. None of this had been any reason for concern at Ilvermorny; Valyn was out of her element.  
"Call up your father. He's her guardian now, yes? I'm sure he'd be happy with the arrangement. I'll personally apologize for not consulting him before courting Valyn," Sirius said. "Hell, I'm almost of age. We're old enough to be betrothed. How much d'you reckon her bride price would be, Lucius?"  
Valyn's distant cousin was almsot hissing like a cat. Fury boiled out of his ears. His fists were clenched extraordinarily hard.  
"Too high for you," Andy said. "What with you being disowned."  
"I have money, I assure you," Sirius said.  
"Bride price?" Valyn spoke up, lightheaded- whether from the bitchslap, or the conversation, she couldn't tell.  
"The price a groom pays in exchange for the lady's hand in marraige," Cissa explained. "Usually paid as soon as one decides he'll marry the girl. Lucius had already paid mine, meaning we're lawfully engaged."  
Did she move to biblical times? She gaped at Sirius.  
He wasn't looking at her, but staring Lucius down. After a moment, he turned to the professors. "Valyn's alright, and he won't hit her again- an act of passion, y'know. I don't think it'd be a big deal if you let it slide, would you? He was only protecting his cousin."  
"Five points from Slytherin," Dumbledore was approaching. "And that will be the end of the matter."  
"Professor!" Sirius exclaimed brightly. "I have a really, really urgent question for Mr. Abraxas Malfoy, if you would help me ask him as soon as possible?"  
Lucius sucked in a breath and swivelled, staring Valyn down. "Do you see what you've done?' He asked, his voice like acid. She winced.  
"I-"  
"Do! You! See!" Lucius roared, grabbing her by the collar and heaving her up. She shrunk away from him, and Sirius eyed him as he walked away with Dumbeldore.  
"Release her, Lucius," Slughorn said, fidgetting. Lucius all but shoved her into Bella, who caught and held a shaking, terrifyed Valyn. Lucius stalked to the Slytherin table, but Valyn didn't want to follow.  
"Come," Cissa coaxed gently, putting her hand on Valyn's elbow. "He'll be fine. Sirius would make a fine husband, despite all of his-"  
"He is a blood traitor and a member of the Order!" Bella snapped, leading them to the table.  
"That isn't passed down through the generations, silly," Cissa said.  
Valyn wasn't following though. "I need the lavatory," she explained.  
"D'you need company?" Andy offered, speaking up. Valyn shook her head, wondering how to tell Andy.  
"No, I'm fine. I think I forgot one of my quills in the dorms, too, so I may be late-"  
"Be careful," Bella looked back, concern on her stunning face. "We care."  
Valyn smiled at her friend before nodding. James was at the door and Valyn sped up; just the boy she needed to see.


	16. Valyn's Wedding Vows

Valyn couldn't believe what was going on, not even for a moment.  
It was December 20th, 1977 and the sixteen year-old Valyn was standing in a flawless white wedding gown, sparkling and flawless, staring at a giant brown chapel door.  
She was getting married to Sirius Black.  
He'd asked her out in September, and later that morning asked her gaurdian, Abraxas Malfoy, for her hand in marraige. She and Sirius' best friend, James Potter, had snooped on that conversation... Abraxas had accepted immdiately.  
Negotiations had begun between Abraxas and Fleamont Potter (who served as Sirius' gaurdian) over the wedding until it was satisfactory to both parties.  
Abraxas stood to Valyn's right and offered the girl his elbow, interrupting her memories, and she looped her arm through his to be properly escorted.  
There were seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen, a maid of honor and a best man, and a flower girl and a ring barer. Negotiations on who was allowed had been... Heated, to say the least. Sirius never dropped his charm nor his debonair, however.  
The Maid of Honor and Best Man were the first to be going into the chapel through the leftmost door. James was on the left of Andy. The brides maids, in order of entrance into the chapel, were Cissa, Bella, Alice, Klio and Klementine Nott, Mira, and Marlene. Their male counterparts were Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus Lestrange, Frank Longbottom, Fabian and Gideon, Evan, and Regulus.  
The ring barer and flower girl were the only ones entering through the rightmost door of the chapel with Valyn and Abraxas... And those chosen for the roles were most curious, indeed.  
The ring barer was Charlie Weasley, a five year old ginger boy whom Sirius apparently babysitted. Abraxas had been entirely against allowing him to be the ring barer... But, after all, he was from an ancient pureblood family and could not legitimately refuse without being rude and outlandish against the Weasleys.  
Abraxas had nearly had a heart attack when Sirius had asked for a girl named Nymphadora Black to be the flower girl, a four year old metamorphagus girl. However, when Valyn had asked why a pureblood daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black could not be her flower girl, Sirius had given Abraxas a pointed look and, dejectedly, Abraxas had relented.  
Later, Sirius had told her a secret. Nymphadora Black was not her name... She was Nymphadora Tonks, and she was Andy and Ted's daughter. However, Ted and Andy were sixteen and seventeen, and Dora was four... They had been frightfully young. Ted didn't even know about his secret daughter; Andy hadn't shown at all, and they'd put forth that it was her parents' baby. Only Cygnus, Druella, Bella, Andy, Cissa, Orion, Walburga, Sirius, Regulus, and Andy's godparents (Abraxas Malfoy and Tarendella Nott) knew of the scandal. Valyn had taken it upon herself to grow close to the young girl, and had found she was quite lovely indeed.  
The bridal party made their way into the chapel. Nerves were eating Valyn's stomach. She wore a lovely dress; it was sleeveless and loose around the bosom, accentuating it without being scandalous. It was long and semi form-fitting; the bodice hugged her in the right way to make her hips look large and the skirt was just loose enough for Valyn to walk comfortably. Not a very common style, but it had been the same dress her mother had designed for her own wedding... One she never got to have. It was white with golden shimmers throughout, the sleeves covering most of her shoulders. When she walked, golden strappy heels poked out and so did Valyn's pale foot, her toes painted gold. Her hair was swept up, her makeup simple, golden sparkles all over her. She looked like a goddess.  
Charlie and Dora walked into the chapel. Dora threw her golden petals with expert skill, making sure it looked random but nice and left no space too covered or too sparse. The carpet was golden; the flowers were golden; the archway was golden; the candles were golden; the priest's clothing was golden and white; the walls were white; the floor was white; the chairs were white; the flames of the candles were white. Everything was expensive and gorgeous.  
Muggleborns and halfbloods were, as a rule, not allowed at the weddings of esteemed purebloods, but Abraxas had begrudgingly allowed a select few to be invited; Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Ted Tonks, and Lily Evans. They blended well into the crowd, and had Lily not had brilliant red hair, she would've gone unnoticed. Not many others were invited; the Averies, the Bulstrodes, the Burkes, the Carrows, the Crouches, the Fauleys, the Flints, the Greengrasses, the Lestranges, the Longbottoms, the Macmillans, the Malfoys, the Notts, the Parkinsons, the Potters, the Prewetts, the Rosiers, the Rowles, and the Yaxleys, as well as Sirius' estranged parents and his aunt and uncle, Cygnus and Druella, and finally Alphard Black, who had apparently been disowned.  
A portrait of Valyn's father sat where the father of the bride would usually sit. Abraxas would sit where the mother generally would. Instead of Orion and Walburga taking their place as parents of the groom, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter did. Valyn had still not had the honor of making their acquaintance, formally or casually.  
Valyn walked to the sound of the organ playing magically in the corner. She felt excited, overwhelmed, and terrified, opting to examine her wedding rather than her feelings. She met eyes, finally, with her groom.  
His hair was in a low ponytail. He was the only male in the room who wore a black suit jacket, though it was long and frilled in the British Wizard way; to American Wizards, he would've looked like a pirate. His shirt was starch white, his tie golden, his trousers black, his shoes black. He had pride, love, excitement and fear in his lovely eyes, as well as a couple of tears. Valyn thanked Merlin and Morganna mentally, as well as Cissa, for the magical no-tear drops she'd used on her eyes. Her makeup probably could withstand it, but she wanted to appear strong. It was not befitting of a lady to cry... Nor a gentleman, for that matter, but Valyn had learned over their short engagement that she held little sway over the actions of Sirius Black.  
Everyone was standing and staring at her, the star of the show. Valyn smiled at her audience, meeting the eyes of her friends as well as people she had never seen in her life before. The men all wore cream, the women all wore gold, and everyone had their hair either up or slicked back. She looked at her bridesmaids; they all wore the brightest shade of gold, their gowns long and while pretty, were nothing that kept one's attention, as was to be expected; Valyn was the center of attention, not them. They all held gold and white roses, even little Dora, in her white dress with golden flowers. Her hair was half-up, tied with a bow, and it's traditional brown. She beamed up at Valyn. The bride turned to face the groomsmen, who wore eggshell suit jackets and white bowties, their hair slicked back no matter how long it was, which looked rather odd on the long-haired Lucius. Their hands were clasped in front of them.  
Valyn took her place in front of Sirius, taking his hands.  
"Thank you. All be seated," the priest boomed. Everyone but the parents sat. "Who gives this girl to be married?"  
"I do," Abraxas said in his crisp accent. "On behalf of my brother and her father, Belial Malfoy."  
"Very well. Be seated." The parents sat.  
"We are gathered here today to witness the joining of Sirius Orion Black III and Valyn Alain Malfoy in holy matrimony..." Valyn did not listen. No one objected when it was offered, and everyone recited the prayers the man spoke. Valyn stared into Sirius' gorgeous eyes, and he stared right back. She tried very hard not to smile, and his face was set pleasently but without a grin of his own.  
"Do we have the rings?" the booming voice of the priest asked. Charlie happily gave the couple the bands. "Bride, your vows." In the Wizarding World, it was custom for the bride to go first, and for the couple to write their own vows.  
"I wonder so often," Valyn said, her voice shaky but loud. "About life and death. And in saying this, I do not exclusively mean the particular acts of living and dying; rather, I refer ti tge biological, psychological, emotional and physical acts of each. I wonder so often about what it feels like to live in that true, extraordinarily rare way that most only experience once or, perhaps, twice. Prior to meeting you, I had felt it but once myself; and so long ago that the taste of it had all but faded entirely from my metaphorical tongue. I wonder so often about what a brain must do- or rather, fail to do- before it is truly considered to be lacking of life. I wonder so often whether the act of living, the actual and simple state, so fleeting and pure, is what eats its own self up, and I wonder so often if, instead, it is one's very soul that life uses as it's fuel, for that would explain the bitterness so many are infected with in their latest years of life; for that would explain the irrevokable taint and jadedness that plagues one's personality more and more as they grow older. I wonder so often what it is that makes us alive; I wonder what it is that makes us sentient and intelligent and et cetera. I wonder so often what it feels like to die. Does one become consciously aware of their very life force being drained? Does one feel pain from the actual act of dying, rather than simply because of one's injuries? Shall I be so curious as to the answers of my questions in my own time of dying? Does the onset of death drive one insane, or return to them the insanity they had once thought to be irreversably driven from them, or cure them of all responsibilty, or simply finalize the hatred one may feel for the world? Is it as painful to die as it is to experience the pain of a loved one's passing? Yes, I wonder so often about such things as life and death. Recently, however, I find myself wondering so often about a life and a death with you. Thinking about living with you- in the most straightforward of ways, in a lovely house with lovely children and lovely love- simply existing close to one another, our hearts nuzzled up close and revelling in the feel of the other's-existing with our souls as one, in the eyes of God and of everyone else, forever and unchangably one and the same and equal and together. Thinking about dying with you- of us being old and grey and frail and our lives long-lived- of you falling ill with some irrelevant illness and passing quietly in your sleep after a battle that lasted from age 150 to 160, and me dying simply of age not a year after- of me growing insane with dementia or Krueller's Disease or the like, of me no longer being me and you not caring and showering me in your love until we pass together. And I find that I do not mind either as long as I do receive both; I cannot live with you or at all if I am to die without, nor can I die with you or at all if I am to live without. Whatever life brings us, and where ever death brings us to, as long as I am indeed with you, I can face it all. Because you are my strength and I am your weakness, because you are too cruel without me and I am too frail in your absence. It is for this reason we are here today, or at all, and this reason why I am willing to bind myself to you through God, through magic and through love, irrevokably to you."


	17. God, Forgiveness, and Tears

Valyn, as she spoke, pushed Sirius' ring onto his left ring finger. She had no tears to shed thanks to the conncoction Cissa had given her, but she could feel her body crying, a subtle quake every once in a while. Sirius did not cry but stared into her eyes, listening and absorbing her words like they were the fuel for his life.  
"Groom, your vows."  
"I have never been a fan of marraige," Sirius began after a moment, swallowing. Despite his largness, his significance, he looked small and weak. His face look full of pain. "Nor have I been a fan of lineage, or of continuing bloodlines, or of commitment. Always I have vowed to myself, however secretly, however privately, that I would not subject myself to such- pain. The marraiges I grew up around were perfect in the eyes of the particapents and the eyes of society and, I am sure, the eyes of God, but not in the eyes of me. I didn't see the worth of a marraige when power must be shared and exchanged; I didn't see the worth of sharing or exchanging anything. I didn't see the worth of love, or of caring, or of needing, another person in the way I now love, care for, and need you. Before I met you, I was a shell of a man, and barely that, walking around doing what I thought ought to be done, and now, it all means nothing to me, for you are all I see. Before I met you, I was a child and a blind one at that, and before you, I was nothing. I did not live, and I barely survived, and I hardly felt. I was cynical and harsh and took my own opinions as the God-spoken truth, because before I met you, I might as well have been God to myself. I insulted and dismissed love, especially all-too-sudden and all-too-volatile love like our own, but only because I had never felt it. And I have to thank Orion and Walburga Black for not hiding the truth of marraige, not the good or the bad, from their children, because had I not seen the exact extent of what can go wrong in marraige, I would not know that this feeling is worth all of it. I may not be on the closest terms with them, and we may not speak or see eye-to-eye or even, I daresay, tolerate the thought of one another, but if I have anything to thank them for, it is that. And I know that we will be different from any marraige I have seen before, because we are unlike any people I have before now met. It seems to me now that every marraige is like an optical illusion; depending on where you are, it may look more or less plausible, enjoyable, or 'right', if you would accept the improper word. And so it is now that I have met such a wonderful, beautiful, perfect and blessed woman such as yourself that I accept marraige, accept the carrying on of our blood, accept the good and the bad and the inevitable and the never-to-be. Because with you, I can do and be and say anything that pops into my rather peculiar mind, and it is with me you can do and be and say anything as freely as you will wish. If you ask me for the world, I shall give you the universe, and if you ask me for love, I will give you my heart. Because it is now that I have met you that I see that there is something in this world that matters more than me and what i think and what I feel; it is now that I see the value of all of the the things I once ridiculed. I am honored to have been deemed worthy of your hand by your uncle and deemed worthy of your heart by your friends and deemed worthy of your soul by you, yourself."  
As he spoke, Sirius slipped the band onto Valyn's left ring finger. Despite the charming flow to his voice as he spoke, the undeniable ease and charm and preparedness that slipped through his hard mouth like melted butter with thoughtless nonchalance, Valyn got the distinct feeling the more-than-mediocre orator was making up his vows on the spot. Knowing him, it was not at all unlikely.  
The ceremony was finished rather quickly after their exchange of vows. Their kiss was brisk and unlasting, but the familiar feel of Sirius' mouth on hers lingered as it always did.  
A young, up-and-coming photographer named Rita Skeeter took them aside for wedding photos, and the couple signed their legal documents. Valyn Alain Black did not have the same ring to it and Malfoy.  
Afterwards, Andy and the bridesmaids rushed the newlywed girl to a changing room. She was not to wear her wedding dress to dance; she was put into a shorter (though still respectably lengthed) white gown, made of lace with long sleeves. Her stomach poked through a bit.  
The reception was to be very different from the ceremony. Many of the guests from the ceremony were not invited; it was for 'close family and friends' only. Sirius' groomsmen changed, and so did Valyn's bridesmaids.  
Andy rushed her into the hall where the reception would take place. The floor was dark hardwood, the walls white, and golden chandeliers hung with beautiful wax candles. The tables were covered in white lace table cloth and golden roses, other than the Bridal table which was reversed. The Best Man and Maid of Honor remained; Sirius' groomsmen were now Regulus, Remus, Peter, Frank and Ted and Valyn's bridesmaids were now Bella, Cissa, Lily, Alice and Mira.  
The Malfoys and Blacks did not attend this, other than Regulus, Bella, Cissa, Andy, and Lucius. Valyn's friends were all there- excluding Snape, Mulciber, and Avery- and so were all of Sirius'. Charlie and Dora were not in attendance, nor were any young children; it was an open bar. Also at the bridal table were the Potters.  
Cocktail hour was still going. Valyn sashayed happily over to Fleamont and Euphemia, who stood with James and Sirius. Her husband wrapped his arm around her (she noticed he'd ditched the jacket) and smiled at James before offering her hand to Euphemia first.  
"Mrs. Potter, so very nice to finally meet you. Sirius has told me much,"  
Euphemia shook her hand. "Likewise, dearie! Only, Sirius hasn't been around recently to speak of you."  
Valyn shook Fleamont's hand then. "And nice to meet you, too, sir,"  
"And you, darling! My, my, you're lovely, aren't you?"  
"Far too lovely for Sirius, that's for sure," teased Valyn lightheartedly. She made nice with them a while longer before Valyn excused herself to greet the others.  
"Yes, dearie, by all means, mingle! It is your wedding after all- Sirius ought to be doing the same, but then again Sirius Black is not one to do what he ought to..."  
Valyn was greeted as 'Mrs. Black' more times than she could keep track of. Lucius, Rodolphus, and Bella all seemed calm enough despite their extreme dissaproval of the match, and Lucius took it upon himself to congradulate her. Bella said she seemed truly in love. Rodolphus did not glare at her once.  
Andy seemed particularly fond of firewhiskey and Ted Tonks. Ted seemed particularly fond of her and the little half-sandwiches they served. It was rather adorable.  
She met Molly and Arthur Weasley, who were older than her by a handful of years and the parents of little Charlie. She was very cute and petite, while he was very awkward and large, and it was all very amusing to Valyn.  
The cocktail hour did end, however, and eventually everyone took their seats.  
James stood up when everyone was situated and quiet. His jacket, had been ditched, too, as well as his tie, and his shirt was unbuttoned. His hair was ruffled and his glasses were askew. He grinned out at the audience with flushed cheeks... James was buzzed.  
"Ladies and gentlemen!" He greeted with a clear voice. "It's toasting time." James lifted his glass. "I've always thought Sirius to be a bit doggish, the lone wolf kind. He's my best mate, you see, and we've been like twins in a litter since first year. We've been through alot together, and I know everything about the poor mutt. He's doggedly handsome, as you can see, but he's and inbred chihuahua compared to Valyn. He's got a heart of gold, however covered in plumes and ruffs he may be. His love is anything but deciduous and he'll always have a sturdy brisket for her to lie her dish-faced apple head on. Whever she goes, he'll always be close-behind her to support and drive her. Together they will trot through all of life's issues, and I'll be dam-ed if I don't help them. She helps him with his dystrophy and he helps her with her lung dysplasia, and because of that I know they're meant to be. Never again will she allow him to go feral, and he will be very content living in his kennel with his woman. Without her he is like a stray dog, lost and wandering, abandoned." James lifted his glass. Valyn was thoroughly confused... Were those dog jokes? Because of his Animagus? He was terrible at puns... Or maybe it was because he was drunk?  
Regardless, the toast was finished. Sirius was ginning out at the guests. His hair was out of it's ponytail and wild once more, and a shadow had formed on his too-handsome face. He looked older here, in the fading purple light of the dusk, and if Valyn tilted her head, she could see Sirius, 35 years old, a wonderful, silly, goofy father.  
Andy stood up next. "Hello, everyone," she said alluringly, dark eyes pointed out playful. Her feminine wiles were in full power. "We've all come here to celebrate the union of two very wonderful people... Sirius and Valyn Black. I've known her for as long Sirius himself has, and I'd like to thing we have as strong a bond as they do. She knows more about me than some people do after having known me my entire life... Including her husband. I admit I haven't known her long, but the things I have seen in her make me believe that no man could ever be worth her and all of who she is, but my experience with my cousin had told me that if anyone were to come close, it's him. Seeing them together is what I imagine it would be like to see Romeo and Juliet... If Juliet had come from a different planet and been dropped unexpectedly into everything that was Verona, Italy and the family war. However, unlike the young couple, it seems that Sirius and Valyn have risen above the destinies their family had created for them. I wish them a life full of happiness, a house full of love, and a bed full of activity." Andy winked as the room laughed and toasted. Valyn's face flushed at the last part of the speech.  
When Andy sat down, the portrait that was hung behind Valyn and Sirius spoke up. "May I?" Belial's familiar voice spoke. The newlywed shuddered and looked to her husband.  
"We would be honored, sir," Sirius said quietly.  
Belial smiled and looked out at the crowd. "I am but a whisper of the great Belial Malfoy, nothing like the man himself, as you all know portraits are. Luckily, however, I am the whisper that holds his heart, which is full of nothing Valyn and everything she ever has been, a beautiful little girl that has blossomed into the most beautiful and exotic of flowers. As this kind girl has said, no man could ever be deserving of my perfect daughter, but any man strong and brave and good enough, as well as patient and stubborn enough, to earn my baby's approval is good enough for me. I remember one day when she was young, a day that stuck with me and pounded little Valy farther into my heart. It was a Sunday in late summer, not three weeks before her first year at Ilvermorny. She's always been a religious girl but never in the conventional way, and she had us spend our Sundays barefoot outside, dancing and laughing and talking and singing. God makes his home in the trees, she would say, and the Virgin Mary's song was what fueled the wind. This particular late Sunday, she'd dropped to the ground in the brilliant light of dusk, her white sundress and white hair and holy white light billowing around her, and she said to me this: "Daddy, when I get married, I want to be as strong and confident and silly as Mama was. I want to be as beautiful and as in love as Mama was. I want to be as happy and healthy and whole and pure as you tell me she was everyday, and only then will I say yes to a man. And Daddy, that man has to be weak for me. He's got to be the mountain that parts for me and only me the way the Red Sea parted for Moses. He's got to be as strong and courageous and smart and stubborn as you, Daddy, because you were perfect for Mama and Mama is what I wanna be." Now I'm not saying my little Valy grew up to be like her mother; they're both strong and independant and goofy and loving, but Valyn is so much more than my beloved girl ever was. No woman, no witch, no person, no angel and no goddess could ever be anything but paled and disgusting compared to my beautiful baby girl. And I'm not saying that Sirius is a strong man like me... But I will say that my daughter is no liar, and if she's taken him as her husband, then he is everything she wants and needs and nothing that she does not."  
Slowly, everyone drank the toast. Sirius stared downwards, thought scrunching his perfect brow. Valyn touched his shoulder.  
"I love you," she whispered.  
"I love you, too."


	18. A Lost Maidenhead (RATED X)

Valyn and Sirius' first dance was, of course, a Muggle song. Elton John's 'Your Song' started playing as Sirius and Valyn clutched hands. There was no father-daughter dance, obvious, but there was a dollar dance for each of the newlyweds. Sirius' song was Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd; Valyn's song was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.  
Everyone had fun. After a bit of dancing, dinner was served, and then they cut the cake, and the dancing continued until just past midnight. After that, Sirius and Valyn took their leave.  
She hastily pulled pants on before crawling onto Elvendork behind Sirius. He now donned his leather jacket, and she'd pulled her dragonhide jacket on. Valyn clung to her husband as he drove them to the Potters' Cottage in Godric's Hollow. Mr. and Mrs. Potter and James were staying somewhere else, and they would have free reign of the house, though she was sure they'd stay in the basment; that was Sirius' domain. It was meant to be a rental apartment, but luckily Sirius had come at a time of vacancy for the family. It was his for free as long as he wanted it.  
Valyn sat on his bed. It was four poster, red and gold silks tied to the posts, the sheets mahogany. The carpet was a pale yellow, the walls white. Valyn watched as Sirius sat next to her and lit a cigarette.  
This was it, her wedding night. She was going to lose her virginity... To her husband. To Sirius. She was giddy and happy and impatient and terrified and worried all at once. She nudged his shoulder with her own.  
Sirius ignored her and kicked off his dress shoes, removed his belt and tie, and lay on his bed. puffing away at his cancer stick. "C'mere, baby," he beckoned.  
Valyn pushed off her strappy heels with her own feet, pushed the pants down and crawled onto Sirius' body, curling into him like she could hardly do at Hogwarts. She fit nicely against him. She curled one knee over him, his warm thigh pressed against her panties. His hand warmed her waist. She pressed her bosom to his inexpertly, and he snickered at her. He smoked until the square was half gone before extinguishing it on the nightstand and setting it down, then turned to face Valyn, laying on his side, their noses not a millimeter from touching. His beautiful eyes bored holes into her soul.  
"You're nervous," Sirius said. Valyn moved so that her head was under his.  
"It's gonna hurt, isn't it?" she whispered. Bella had been the one to tell her exactly what sex was... And what to be prepared for. Valyn shuddered at the thought, but it wasn't all bad. The thought of being filled by Sirius... Being possesed, inhabited by, overwhelmed by him... There was a stirring in her loins. She giggled into his cheek.  
"Not sure," he said, wrapping his arms around her. He held her for a nice, wonderful five minutes before gently pulling her dress up and off. She wore a clear bra with white trim that shone her pale skin and bubblegum nipples and matching panties that revealed short, white curls. White thigh-high stockings that clipped to the panties were also on her. Valyn pulled her hair down in one swift motion, then plucked the hair pretties from it. She pushed off Sirius' shirt and he pressed his lips against hers.  
Their kiss was like any other; long, drawn out, passionate, and exciting. Valyn's blood began to boil and her skin turned to lava, her pudendum melting like vanilla ice cream down her thighs. Her legs soon wrapped around his waist and he ground his erection into her. She made noises that were like a wild animal's, noises that made her little moans and purrs of the past seem like innocent giggles. She clawed hungrily at Sirius' back as he drank from her, the passion between them as tangible as Valyn's arousal.  
Sometime that could very well have been years later, Sirius broke the kiss, face swollen and eyes mad, and he ripped her bra off. His fingers grabbed at her thighs, digging into the flesh, but since he had no fingernails the stockings did not rip. He did make quick work of the crotch of her panties, which were thoroughly soaked through, and Valyn gasped as a new wave of arousal washed through her. He was so hot, and strong, and he made her so hot... She squirmed as fingers explored her down there. New sensations blossomed in her lower belly, and she rubbed against his hand frantically like a bitch in heat, practically cooing when Sirius' thumb circled her button. His index and middle fingers teased her folds and his cold wedding band felt intense on her entrance. His bruised lips found her erect nipple and sucked greedily, and he back arched. His left ring finger entered her, and even that was immediately hugged by her walls. His tongue circled her nipple and jumped from one to the other, and his other hand was somewhere Valyn couldn't see.  
Eventually he tired of messing around with his fingers and he removed his trousers. He kissed her again, long and hard, before moving onto his knees above her. She stared at him.  
His manhood was tall and pround, pointing to his navel and nearly touching it. He looked huge, like a long cylinder that would not fit in her little, virgin hole. Veins pounded in it, blue and purple, though the skin was white and tinted red towards the top. He stroked it a few times, pulling the skin back to reveal a rounded, less terrifying tip. He rubbed it against her core and she inhaled sharply at the new, nice sensation.  
He kissed her gently, lovingly, and held onto her hips, rubbing her for a moment before pushing in. She was unbelievably ready for him, her need for him moistening the blankets below them, and after the initial discomfort of something far too big being inside of her, being stretched was very, very nice. He stayed still inside of her. She felt split in half but in an utterly amazing way. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her tongue lapped lazily at his. He moved after she started squirming beneath him, and like a giant, great machine, he pulled back nearly all the way before pistoning himself back inside of her. Something in her walls shifted and she grunted. He did it again, the slow removal and fast thrust, several times, before her grunts turned to moans.  
He seemed to be satisfied with how acclimatized to him she was, because he began to do things Valyn could not comprehend. He pistoned into her several times, fast, driving her to some quaky, almost painful height, creating a pleasant discomfort oddly similar to needing to pee, before delving himself completely and utterly into her and just kind of grinding into the end of her tunnels, making it feel as if he were shifting her womb itself. Hell, for all she knew, he was, and she didn't care; his movements inside of her were phenomenal.  
Maybe an hour into their lovemaking, something else new happened to the new bride. A sudden... Pleasure, overtook her, and her toes curled up, all of her muscles clenched (including her vagina, which Sirius seemed to enjoy) and her brain malfunctioned. It was the best thing Valyn had ever felt... And it made her more sensitive, more attuned to what he did to her. Another fourty five minutes and it happened again; over and over is occured, each time more quickly than the last, until the sun was rising in the high windows and Valyn was never not in her state of bliss. She knew her body and mind were aching on some far-away, irrelevant level, but not too long after dawn, Sirius' arms gave out and his hard, heavy body fell on hers. He continued making love to her, though, and she whimpered as something hot and wet began to fill her. It was so good, and she clung to him, clenching around him and begging for more, for him to never stop, for him to stay buried inside of her forever,  
Eventually, however, when his orgasm stopped, he pulled out. He kept her legs splayed as she fell slack into the bed, feeling the hot liquid leaking naughtily from her stretched womanhood. He watched with intense interest on his utterly exhausted face.  
When he was satisfied, he lay on her once more in a way that permitted her to breathe then buried his fingers into her and wiggling them occasionally, keeping her unbelievably aroused well into the sex-themed sleep she fell into.


	19. Life and Death

It was July when Valyn went into labor, two months before little Sovie was due.  
She was with Sirius is their small Wizarding flat that was practically walking distance from Wales, and it was two in the morning on July 22nd.  
"Sirius," she cried out after a terrible contraction awoke her. The bed was wet with her water and a gross, yellow-pink blob of mucus; her mucus plug. That didn't necessarily mean labor... But the water, she thought, did. And so did the contraction. Her thighs were dotted with blood.  
"Sirius!" she shreiked when her husband didn't wake up. Sirius awoke then, taking one groggy look at Valyn before shooting forward, lively enough.  
"S'wrong?' he demanded, looking in mild distaste and extreme terror at the mess between her legs. "Is Sovie-?"  
"Doctor's. Now," Valyn rolled out of bed, her big, seven-month-pregnant belly preventing too much movement. Her nightgown slipped from her hips to her knees, covering the slight mess, and she slipped into her slippers, grabbing Kleenex to clean up and the nude Sirius slipped hastily into clothing. She slipped into some undies and her husband assisted her outside to the parking garage, slipping her into the side carraige of Elvendork. He flew away.  
"James, and Remus, and Peter... And Andy and Reg and Evan and-"  
"We'll call from the hospital," Sirius replied as they rushed away.  
There was no speed limit in the sky, and Sirius fled quickly, though slower than usual; Valyn assumed for her comfort, which annoyed her. Sirius had had made it clear to her he'd risk Sovie's life for Valyn's, much to her outrage. She hoped if it came to that today, she'd have the say-so in the matter.  
They reached St. Mungo's, almost 330 kilometers away, in 20 minutes. She was rushed into the emergency room and then to her own room within another five, and Sirius called James first. Valyn had heard birth for No-Majs was very stressful; no one was allowed in the room and they needed potentially dangerous drugs to bear it. Luckily, however, St. Mungo's had wonderful nurses and docters with spells to null the pain, and as many as half a dozen people could attend.  
Remus and Peter were at James' that night, luckily, saving a few phone calls. Which left two people for Valyn to invite;  
"Andy and Regulus."  
Sirius looked at his wife for a long time. She stared back defiantly, daring him to challenge the woman who would soon be shoving his baby out of her most intimate bits. His eyes closed and, slowly, he dialed the nurse, requested he be allowed to use the fireplace; the Blacks did not have a telephone.  
He left the room just as the doctor rushed in and talked her through what would happen. The baby would be fine... They'd stay here for two weeks... She couldn't hold the baby right away... It was a blur for Valyn as the contractions were closer together. She was 7 centimeters already, they said. She was doing beautifully, they said. Oh, look! They said. Eight centimeters. Her cervix was expanding at an unprecidented pace...  
She reached ten just as all four Marauders rushed in with Lily. Sirius rushed to her left and Lily to her right; Peter sat next to the ginger and James next to Valyn's husband. Remus went behind Sirius and James.  
Andy arrived next, just as the doctor got situated between Valyn's legs. She held Nymphadora in her arms, who was fast asleep, but neither of the two nurses commented on them being one person above the quota; probably because Dora was so young.  
Regulus was not far behind, and reluctantly, the eldest nurse spoke up.  
"I'm sorry... One of you will have to go. We can only have so many-"  
"My apologies," Regulus said quickly, turning.  
"No!" Valyn shreiked oddly, motioning him in. "Please, please..."  
"I will," Remus said after a moment. "I think I may faint if I stay."  
Sirius embraced his friend and Remus left. Regulus slowly walked behind Sirius to take the seat Remus had left vacant. The brothers didn't acknowledge one another.  
The baby was born at 3:14 a.m. on Saturday, July 22nd, 1978 not a year after her parents had met. The doctor hurriedly put her wherever they put babies to clean them up... A sink? Little cries kept Valyn awake, noises like an angel. Sirius and Peter held her hands, and Lily played with her hair. Valyn muttered something about calling Lucius and Cissa and Bella and Rodolphus and Severus and Evan and...  
She fell asleep shortly after they took little Sovie out of the room and did not awaken until hours later; nearly seven in the afternoon.  
Different faces surrounded her. Sirius was silent in the left corner, his feet on the chair, hugging himself and staring unseeingly at Valyn. Lucius and Cissa were immediately to her left; Bella and Rodolphus immediately to her right; Andy was behind them, Reg and Evan behind Lucius and Cissa.  
"Sirius, she's awake," Andy said. After a moment, Valyn's husband relivened. He cleared his throat and stood, and Valyn realised he hadn't been hugging himself, but craddling a small baby.  
He walked to her and Lucius and Cissa backed up. "He wouldn't let anyone hold him before you," Cissa said, bemused, just as a little piece of heaven was slid into her arms.  
Something inside of Valyn changed. That little bratty voice, broken and angry, froze as soon as little sleeping Sovie touched Valyn's skin, and she grew up in an instant. Maternal love overflowed her person like a brilliant, pink magic and she physically gasped, feeling her heart soften and enclose around the mental, flubber Sovie in Valyn's consciousness. What had been Bad Valyn grew into a mother, taking over Valyn as a person. Good Valyn, the Valyn Sirius loved deeply, was pushed to side but kept. She started to cry happily, sheer joy sliding from her black eyes, and Sirius watched in admiration. She slipped the top of her gown open and discreetly pushed a nipple to the baby's lips, and somehow, Sovie began to suckle. She awoke and opened small eyes, eyes whose color were indistinguishable. A small brushing of dark hair sat on her head. Her cheeks were round, and she was so small... She would fit on her forearm.  
Later, someone came in with a birth certificate. Regulus was the next to hold his niece, and Valyn filled it out with her husband. Sovereign Samantha Black-Malfoy. Her godparents were to be Andy and Remus. The boys had already had a plan for their firstborns godfathers; Remus would be Sirius', Sirius would James', James would be Peter's, and Peter would be Remus'.  
Little did they know then that Valyn was entirely different. She and Sirius bickered often, sometimes screaming at one another, but they always forgave each other by bedtime. The young Sovereign (who soon grew to prefer her middle name, Sammie) was soon revealed to be quite fond of the Marauders, Remus especially. She also adored Bella. Dora absolutely adored her, and often helped her mother babysit. When Valyn and Sirius attended their last year at Hogwarts, Euphemia and Fleamont Potter were more than happy to take care of her. Little one-year-old Sovie served as James and Lily's flowergirl, alongside Percy Weasley as their ring barer.  
A year passed and Sammie adored Harry. She, Valyn, and Sirius were usually at the Potter's house, even when Euphemia and Fleamont passed away the same day, not two weeks after Harry's birth, even as the war progressed and the boys were constantly gone. Lily and Valyn couldn't leave because of their children, and they often sought comfort and companionship from one another.  
A year had passed, and it was almost Sirius and Valyn's fourth anniversary and James and Lily's second had just passed. Remus was seeing one Marlene McKinnon, and Peter was planning on telling Sirius about him and Regulus. In August, however...  
In August, Regulus died. He'd done something to counter the Dark Lord, apparently, and had died during the matter... Sirius was deplorable afterwards. He got angry and cried often, lashing out. Peter, too, was obviously shaken up... Right before October began, he revealed to his friends why.  
James and Remus were stunned. Lily was absolutely floored. Sirius, however... Sirius was furious. He stormed out, and Peter broke down. Sammie had to calm him down.  
And then it was Halloween of '81.  
Valyn was rocking Sammie to sleep, as she was having a fit. She was quieting down, however... And truth be told, Valyn was rather bothered as well. Sirius was out, as he had been every night since Peter's reveal, drinking where Morganna only knew.  
She didn't hear when Voldemort came into her flat, and she didn't notice when the door opened. She had just enough time to cover Sammie with her body when the Killing Curse was cast, and then Voldemort left, apathetic to the crying toddler left in her dead mother's arms.  
Valyn died without knowing why. Peter, James and Lily's Secret Keeper, had told Voldemort about James and Lily the day before. He'd asked, in his desperate, broken, incredulous state for the same fate that would befall James to befall Sirius... But Sirius had not been home. The Dark Lord had figured he may as well kill Valyn; she was part of the order and a blood-traitor, and Lucius had messed up yet again. He cared not for the little girl she left behind.  
Soon after, the Dark Lord saw to the deaths of James, Lily, and himself. Sirius arrived to find his wife dead, his daughter shrieking. He, confused, took her to the Potter's on Elvendork after calling the Wizarding police. But they were dead, too.  
Sirius was even more broken and terrified and hateful and wretched then before. Sammie found solice in her father's arms, ignorant to the fate that would soon follow them all.


	20. And, The End

Valyn's daughter was not left to either of her godparents; as next of kin, Regulus was supposed to have her, but upon his death everything went to his parents. Thus, little Sovereign Samantha Black-Malfoy was left to Walburga and Orion Black, the latter of whom was gravely ill.  
Sammie had a shock of blonde curls her grandmother allowed her to color. Walburga herself was going grey, and she dyed her granddaughter's hair as often as her own. Sammie had the same deep green eyes as her uncle, the same royal bones as her father, the same tall, thin build as her mother. Her nose was upturned like Belial's. She had aspects of everyone's personalities; her grandmother's pride, her mother's kindness, her father's rebellion, and Regulus' hidden insecurities. She grew up being told secret stories about her father, mother and uncle by Andromeda while her grandmother assured her she was, indeed, her own daughter.  
Walburga also dubbed her granddaughter Samantha Sovereign Black, despite that not being her legal name. Sammie adored her sharp-tongued grandmother and silent, upright grandfather very much, and Walburga had a soft spot for Sammie she'd never shown to either of her sons. Orion addressed Sammie as he would have his own daughter; with a quiet fondness and without any of the wise admiration he'd offered whichever son had been considered his heir at any given time.  
Sammie was five when Orion passed away, and that was when her grandmother changed.  
She grew weak, feeble, and bitter, and she was always quite angry. Sammie believed that whatever sanity the woman had had had died with her husband. Her punishment was the Cruciatus Curse and from then on, Sammie endured long speeches of the vileness of Muggle, muggleborns, and blood traitors. The old Walburga still shined through sometimes, however; she conceded to Sammie that she was not her mother, but Valyn Malfoy had been, though she refused to tell her who her father was. Andy never spoke their names, either. Sirius was in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit, and slowly, the dementors sucked every memory of Sammie out of his mind and most memories of Valyn until, to him, she was just another girl he'd played.  
When Sammie was ten, Walburga became ill with the same disease that had claimed her husband; dragonpox. It was for this reason that Sammie did not begin school on time; when she was thirteen, her grandmother finally passed, and she started school at the same time as Harry Potter, being Sorted into Slytherin.  
She was left to her next closest relatives; Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. She'd been raised around Draco and soon became even closer to him. Her best friends were Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Draco, and Blaise Zabini. Though she managed to stay under the radar of Harry Potter, she was semi-popular at Hogwarts; she dated many people, including (but certainly not limited to) Blaise, Draco, Marcus Flint, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott, Artemis Rosier, Oliver Wood, Cedric Diggory, and Fred Weasley.  
Valyn watched over her daughter every day from the afterlife, accompanied by Lily and James, who were watching over Harry.  
Things had been odd there, in the afterlife. Valyn had awoken, almost, after she had died, in a place that looked like a white-washed version of her and Sirius' flat. She'd been so confused... But slowly, she started remembering things. And, eventually, she started to "realize" things, random things that she'd never known, including that the afterlife looked exactly like her own, only filled of dead people, white-washed, and you could watch the real, living world whenever you wanted.  
And that was basically all she did. She'd rushed to Godric's Hollow- distance here was not a thing. She'd wanted to go to the Potters' house, and suddenly, it had been only a few feet away.  
And she'd lived with them here.

And Sammie, her life, everything about her, had consumed her most of the time... And she checked on others, too. Sirius was in prison... And now, he knew nothing of her. It would have killed her had she not already been dead. She watched Peter (oh poor soul...) and Remus, and watched little Dora grow into the prankster Tonks. She adored Draco and even young Delphi; her bond to Bellatrix and Narcissa could not be broken, especially watching both women care for and about her daughter. Sammie visited Bellatrix in Azkaban often; she was Bella's only visitor. Rodolphus enjoyed her, as well...  
And Evan. She saw him die not long after she herself passed. He left behind a nephew, though; Artemis, a boy who often sought after Sammie and dated her once.  
Yes, although she kept tabs on everyone, Sammie consumed her afterlife.  
Her life at Hogwarts went well enough. First year, she became absolutely obsessed with the Marauders. She was a sneaky girl and found out unbelievably amazing things about them. She formed irrevokable bonds with many of her yearmates, but many of the older Gryffindors mocked and cursed her, much to Valyn's outrage.  
Second year, she began to form friendships outside of her House and year, and joined Quidditch, playing as a Chaser. She was good, but not amazing, and probably only made the team for two reasons: Flint, the captain, thought she was hot, and was really sick of being called sexist for not having any girls on the team.  
Third year, when she heard about her father, she grew very, very introverted, angry, and cynical. She didn't know her father didn't know who she was, and was therefore very offended that he didn't half care about his own flesh and blood... Especially after first year, when she'd seen her and him and Valyn, a happy family in their pretty flat... Had it all been a lie? A mask? Did she truly mean that little?  
Fourth year, when she was seventeen, she put hed name in the Goblet of Fire and became a Triwizard Champion.  
In the first event, she beat the dragon by charming it with controversial magic created by her grandfather, Valyn's father, Belial. Watching her elegantly charm the giant beast without a wand was amazing to Valyn; Sammie was downright stunning.  
She discovered the secret to the egg rather quickly and her soon-to-be-ex boyfriend told Harry Potter, someone she hated blindly without caring to discover was due to his importance to Sirius. She discovered the secret, however, whilst talking with the merpeople, something she did often, and convinced one to give her a hair to use altered polyjuice potion for the competition. Draco Malfoy was the person she had to save.  
She dumped Cedric not long before the Yule Ball. He asked the girl shr hated most in the school as if to spite her; as if she cared. She went with the younger albeit charming Blaise Zabini.  
And during the final task, Cedric discovered everything after eavesdropping on "Moody" and Karkaroff. He went into the maze to try to warn Sammie and Harry, and all three were transported with the goblet.  
Sammie was smart enough to hide. Cedric still died. Harry still fought Voldemort. Sammie somehow remained under the radar of Voldemort, unless he simply chose to ignore her. She attempted to intervene several times, but Harry made it obvious he didn't want her help and she would not risk her life unnecessarily for someome who did not want help. She, Harry and Cedric took the portkey back; Harry was still considered the winner.  
In fifth year, Sammie started dating Fred Weasley. She was the only one of her friends to not have become a member of the Inquisitorial Squad... And the only to join the D.A.  
She didn't speak often to most of them, and kept mainly to herself, the twins, and Neville.  
She accompanied Harry and his friends to the Ministry, but only because no one else knew where it was. Valyn was sad to see her refuse to pick a side in the war. Valyn was even sadder to know that if Sammie had fought, she would have met Sirius before he died. She broke up with Fred not long afterwards.  
In the afterlife, Sirius joined his wife, best friend, and Lily. He remembered Valyn now... Remembered Sammie, too.  
He stared at her for a long time. He was old, with crows feet and laugh lines and a sort of hardness to his jaw that usually set in when a man approached forty. His hair was far too long and his cheeks were far too scruffy, his face a little unfamiliar. Valyn knew she had not agaed a day over twenty-one, her white hair the same, her black eyes unchanged, her fair skin unlined.  
Sirius didn't move. Didn't look at James, or Lily, just stared at Valyn with a wall blocking everything as finally regained her ability to move and threw herself at Sirius, who held her for a long time. He was thinner and softer, no longer a self-absorbed boy in his prime. She laughed, realising that maybe, she preferred this Sirius; he had undergone the same change as Valyn, through caring for Harry.  
Voldemort had Draco Malfoy turned inti a werewolf as punishment to Lucius. Sammie became fiercely pro-werewolf and fiercely anti-Death Eater. She was a part of the Slug Club, as her father had apparently been, and she fought with Draco often. She was angry and broken and hurt, and every bit as jaded and alone as Sirius had been during early sixth year.  
She was helpless to do anything but watch as Dumbledore fell, as the Ministry fell, as equality crumbled before her very eyes. She no longer had ties to the order, not during the summer, and she outright refused Voldemort. It was a wonder the man hadn't killed her.  
She kept up with the DA during school and conveyed to her scared clubmates the point of view of many of the young Slytherins, a speech that made Valyn cry and Sirius puff out his chest.  
"Imagine for a moment that you are, for example, a young Draco Malfoy. You know only your family and they tell you that there are these people who suck the power from law-abiders such as yourself. They tell you that you're the best of the best, noble, pure, and true, and imagine you're the single most important thing to everyone you know. Imagine messing up once; there was a muggle boy down the street, and he had a toy truck that was absolutely astounding. So, you played with him... And your father locked you in the dungeon and made yiu believe he was going to let you rot. You messed yourself and yiu were left down there, at the sensitive age of five, for two whole days. You're terrified if the dark. Mother comes and gets you then, cleans you up and assures you that it wont happen again if you behave... And so you ignore the muggle boy with his trunk and to mask the shame, you convince yourself that magic makes you better than having a truck. You have lots of cool, magic toys, dont you? You're a rich pureblood. Of course you do. Now, imagine you're eleven year old Draco Malfoy and you come here and meet the famous Harry Potter. You make grown-up talk with him, just like your great dad, and accidentally insult everything he likes. So when he insults you back, knowingly, you're confused and angry- why, everyone has always told you that you're the greatest being on earth. What does a snot-nosed, poor blood traitor and a frumpy, paradoxically crass mudblood have on you? ... But soon, you find out that you're not so great, and no one likes you. At all. Instead, they like some halfblood who could have been the reason you never knew your dad since 1981. And then he just gets better and better... And he "saves the school", or whatever. So you hate him. Then in second year, only Snape thinks you're good enough to beat him duelling class. And you would have, too, if everything hadn't been stopped by- get this- Harry talking to the damn snake. And then, in fourth year- and by now everyone hates you for no apparent reason- he gets chosen as a Triwizard Champion. He's too young to even compete! And your father hates him. He's embarassed you countless times, and for what! Fulfilling your birthright? In fifth year, he mocks you, acts like he's above you. And he gets your father imprisoned... And as punishment, the Dark Lord had you bitten by none other than- and I promise to kill any of you who utter a word of this- Fenrir Greyback, and suddenly, you have to hide every full moon. You've been turned into everything you hate... And all because of Potter. And it isn't if you've chosen to side with Voldemort, or completely sided against Potter! The summer after first year, you sent your elf Dobby to make sure he didn't die. In second year, you gave Hermione the clues to stop the Basilisk- discreetly, of course. Third year, you knew the truth behind Sirius Black and urged Potter to go after him. Fourth year, you made your best friend, his competition, help him as much as possible. During fifth year, you purposefully let the D.A. allude you! In front of your friends! Not that Crabbe or Goyle are smart enough to notice, but still... And then, he made you a werewolf. He made you everything you despise... And still. It was because of him you couldn't finish off Dumbledore, because stupid Potter needed the old bat... And you lied to your parents, Auntie Bella, everyone, saying that that deformed boy was not Harry Potter. And still, everyone hates you, and your parents have stopped telling you you're important, because they know now that you aren't."  
After Harry won, and Kingsley was appointed the Minister for Magic, Sammie took over as warden of Azkaban; the only permanent resident, as the guards were all Aurors. She fell in love with Artemis, and they married. Sirius and Valyn couldn't be happier...  
Oh, yes. Valyn herself, when not preoccupied with Sammie (usually at night; sleep was not neccessary), she and Sirius rekindled their love. It was a tough start, but...  
They were walking down a path in the white-washed version of the Potter's garden. Valyn felt young and giddy and girlish, and Sirius had an uncomfortable sureness about him, and an odd smile her husband of old would never have worn. Sirius suddenly slipped his hand into Valyn's, and the dead woman held it, looking back at him with a look in her sepia eyes he'd seen before. She was playful and breezy, like a lungful of fresh air Sirius had not felt since Hogwarts, since Valyn, and it made Sirius feel anew. He swept forward in a rush of courage that, having once been unending, had shifted into nonexistance, was coming back to him more often, and kissed her.  
His lips were looser, his kiss less authoritative, and surprisingly, Valyn found she appreciated it. He let her cut his hair in the kitchen that midnight, and she cut it down to his chin. The shorter it was, the straighter, and the unruly waves calmed down into the spikes she had once known. He looked less like a slob and more like a father.  
All in all, considering everything, Valyn had to admit that she was happy.


	21. REWRITING THIS STORY

I've redone this story, beta read by LadyHallows, and it's on my profile. I want to change the plot up a bit, make the romance between Valyn and Sirius more realistic, and several other things. Please check it out, thanks!


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